Mac Miller
Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's local hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, he signed a record deal with independent label Rostrum Records and released his breakthrough mixtapes K.I.D.S. (2010) and Best Day Ever (2011). Miller's debut studio album, Blue Slide Park (2011), became the first independently distributed debut album to top the US Billboard 200 since 1995. In 2013, he founded the record label imprint REMember Music. After his second studio album, Watching Movies with the Sound Off (2013), he left Rostrum and signed with the major label Warner Bros. Records in 2014. With them, he released four studio albums: GO:OD AM (2015), The Divine Feminine (2016), Swimming (2018), and the posthumous Circles (2020). For Swimming, he was posthumously nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. Along with recording, he also served as a record producer for himself and other artists under the pseudonym Larry Fisherman. Miller struggled with addiction and substance abuse, which was often referenced in his lyrics. On September 7, 2018, Miller died from an accidental drug overdose of cocaine, fentanyl, and alcohol at his home, at the age of 26. Life and career 1992–2010: Early life and career beginnings Malcolm James McCormick was born on January 19, 1992, in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a son of Karen Meyers, a photographer, and Mark McCormick, an architect, and had an older brother, Miller. His mother is Jewish, and his father is Christian. While he and his brother were raised Jewish, he attended a Catholic grade school to "ensure a good education and a chance to play football and lacrosse." He later went to Winchester Thurston School, and graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School. A self-taught musician, Miller played piano, guitar, drums, and bass by the age of six. He first started rapping at the age of 14. Before that, he wanted to be a singer. In high school, he decided to focus on his rap career, later noting, "Once I hit 15, I got real serious about it and it changed my life completely ... I used to be into sports, play all the sports, go to all the high school parties. But once I found out hip-hop is almost like a job, that's all I did." He originally went by the name Easy Mac (often stylized as EZ Mac) and released the mixtape But My Mackin' Ain't Easy in 2007 at the age of 15. By 2009, he established himself as Mac Miller, and released two mixtapes: The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown and The High Life. At the 2010 Pittsburgh Hip Hop Awards, Miller won 21 & Under of the Year, and Best Hip Hop Video for "Live Free". 2010–2013: Breakthrough, Blue Slide Park and Watching Movies with the Sound Off Miller signed with the independent label Rostrum Records in