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Rapper, producer Mac Miller dies at 26

Posted at 4:40 PM, Sep 07, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-07 20:45:05-04

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, Calif. – Rapper Mac Miller has died, according to multiple reports. He was 26.

His lawyer confirmed the news to the Washington Post.

LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 28: Mac Miller performs on Camp Stage during day 1 of Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival 2017 at Exposition Park on October 28, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

While TMZ first reported Miller’s death was the result of an apparent drug overdose, the official cause of death has not been determined and an autopsy is pending.

Law enforcement sources told TMZ Miller was found at his home in the San Fernando Valley around 12 p.m. He was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene.

The outlet also reported authorities were alerted by one of Miller’s male friends, who called 911 from the rapper’s home.

Miller – born Malcolm McCormick – first rose to prominence as a teenager in Pittsburgh with a series of mixtapes released in the mid and late 2000s.

As his career progressed, critics noted an expansion in Miller’s approach to music to include more singing, more serious themes and dark, dense production. He also became a noted record producer under the name “Larry Fisherman.”

Miller scored his first Billboard no. 1 with his debut album “Blue Slide Park,” named after a section of his hometown’s Frick Park, in 2011. He released his fifth studio album “Swimming” in August.

Miller’s struggles with substance abuse were a frequent topic of his music, telling Vulture’s Craig Jenkins, “I used to rap super openly about really dark sh– because that’s what I was experiencing at the time. That’s fine, that’s good, that’s life. It should be all the emotions,” in a profile published the day before his death. His relationship with singer Ariana Grande, which ended earlier this year, was also a tabloid fixture.

Fellow Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa and others sent their thoughts to Miller and his family shortly after the news broke Friday.