Performer admired by many of his peers
MAC Miller, the platinumselling hiphop star who earned kudos from the likes of JayZ and Chance the Rapper, died on September 7 at the age of 26.
Miller also drew headlines for his twoyear relationship with singer Ariana Grande that ended earlier this year.
While Miller didn’t have a hit on Top 40 radio, he had a strong following on streaming networks and had an album debut at No 1 on the top 200 albums chart.
He often alluded to his battles with addiction over the years and had collaborations with numerous performers, including Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne and Ty Dolla $ign.
He released his fifth, fulllength album Swimming last month. Variety called it ‘‘a simple, stately, poetic autobiography’’.
He was due to start a tour at the end of next month that he promised would be special every night. The day before he died he tweeted: ‘‘I just wanna go on tour.’’
Miller and Grande collaborated on her first top 10 hit, the multiplatinum, The Way, which propelled her from teen TV stardom to pop star, and they dated for two years before their relationship ended in May.
She later called it a ‘‘toxic’’ relationship on Twitter.
Not long after, he was charged with drunk driving and hitandrun after police said he struck a power pole and fled the scene.
‘‘I made a stupid mistake. I’m a human being,’’ Miller said in July.
‘‘But it was the best thing that could have happened . . . I needed to run into that light pole and literally have the whole thing stop.’’
The Pittsburgh native, born Malcolm McCormick, rose to fame with a fratrap attitude in his mixtapes like Best Day Ever and his fulllength album debut, 2011’s Blue Slide Park. His more goofy songs included Nikes on My Feet, Kool Aid & Frozen Pizza and Knock Knock.
One of his biggest songs was the 2011 platinumcertified mixtape track Donald Trump, which prompted a feud with the future president.
He asked his fans not to vote for Trump, and publicly supported the Black Lives Matter movement.