The Tragic Life of Mac Miller

The Tragic Life of Mac Miller

“The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.” Welcome to Watchmojo, and today we’ll be discussing The Tragic Life of Mac Miller.


In this video, we’ll be taking a close look at the life of Pittsburgh rapper, singer-songwriter, and producer Mac Miller. Though he suddenly passed away at the heartbreaking young age of just 26 years old, this creative and influential figure touched countless lives with his music.

Born in Pittsburgh on January 19th, 1992, Malcolm James McCormick showed an interest in and talent for music at a very young age. According to various sources, he began experimenting with piano, drums, guitar, and bass as young as six years old - all self-taught. Given that his mother was Jewish and his father was Christian, Mac Miller was exposed to different perspectives from a young age. He went to a catholic elementary school, but was raised Jewish, and participated in various sports like lacrosse and football. In many ways, he was your average American teen, but his creativity and ambition set him apart.

As a child, Miller reportedly wanted to be a singer when he grew up. In his early teens, however, his focus shifted towards rap. Showing an uncommon focus for someone his age, by 15, he had already recorded his first mixtape. It only sold about 70 copies and the production quality was amateur, but in hindsight, his potential is evident. As Miller himself described it, though he liked sports and partying like his friends, “once [he] found out hip-hop is almost like a job, that's all [he] did." Within just a few short years, Miller already had his first minor viral hit, “The High Life.”

Mac Miller had been building up credibility in the local Pittsburgh scene by performing at the Shadow Lounge. He was underage but holding his own with rappers much older than himself. Within two years, at the age of 18 (and still in high school), Miller’s hard work paid off when he was signed to Rostrum Records. Soon after, Miller dropped the now iconic “K.I.D.S.” mixtape, which was the first release to really put him on the map. Unfortunately, success came paired with scrutiny. Miller’s lyrical content was lighthearted and fun-loving. Coupled with the fact that he was white, he was quickly deemed a “frat rapper,” a label that de-legitimized him in the eyes of many hip hop aficionados. His following was growing fast, and the commercial success of his debut album, 2011’s “Blue Slide Park,” is a testament to that. It was the first independently distributed debut album to top the US Billboard 200 in over 15 years. But reviews were mixed, with many critics calling it unfocused or, as Pitchfork put it, “crushingly bland”.


Haters be damned, however, Miller was blowing up. Unfortunately, his life quickly took an all too familiar path - one of excessive partying and substance abuse. Mac had always partied in high school, and claimed to have first smoked weed as early as grade school. But his success, coupled with the newfound pressures of fame, soon led to serious dependency issues. By 2012, he had developed a promethazine habit. Lean, also known as purple drink, which is a mixture of prescription cough syrup, soda and hard candy, became a major part of his life. He got sober that same year, but it was just the beginning of a years-long battle with addiction that would see him repeatedly getting clean only to relapse again.

After the mediocre critical reception of “Blue Slide Park,” the rapper pushed himself in bold new directions. Mac Miller was many things, but one of his most defining characteristics was his work ethic. He put out music at a prolific rate. He only released 5 official albums before his death, but also a whopping 13 mixtapes, which really help us to trace his evolution. His second album, 2013’s “Watching Movies with the Sound Off,” was released just two years after “Blue Slide Park,” but Miller feels like an entirely different rapper. The album won over countless critics and raised his esteem within the hip hop community. It was characterized by more experimental production (much of which Miller handled himself) and personal lyrics. By his own estimate, he recorded roughly 400 songs. With this release, Mac Miller officially went from “frat rapper” to serious musician.

Across his subsequent albums and mixtapes, Miller continuously reinvented himself. He pushed his production style into bold, genre-defying directions that not only shattered the “frat rap” reputation, but arguably set him apart within hip hop. And the further he pushed his craft away from the norm, the more respected he became. Not only was he growing as a producer, but his lyricism evolved in leaps and bounds. Looking back at both his albums and mixtapes however, his deeply personal and open-book approach to writing makes it all too clear that this was a young man in a struggle for his life. 2015’s “GO:OD AM” seemed to coincide with a period of sobriety, and was notably more uplifting. But the “Faces” mixtape, released one year earlier, sees Miller predicting that drugs will be the death of him. This was a cycle from which the young star struggled to escape. Depression was a very real and major part of his life.

Though Mac Miller’s life was defined by ups and downs, it would seem that his relationship with Ariana Grande was a notable high point. It began as a musical collaboration, before evolving into friendship and then romance. Unfortunately, after taking their relationship public in 2016, for all the happiness they seemed to share, Ariana and Miller split in May of 2018. And based on comments made by Grande following his death, it would seem that Miller’s addiction was a major factor. Sadly, while their relationship may have become a “toxic” one according to Grande, the breakup seemingly sent Miller into a tailspin.

The same month that the couple called it quits, Miller was arrested for driving under the influence after crashing his car into a utility pole and fleeing the scene. 2018, as a whole, seems like it was a transitional time for Miller, one that saw him indulging his best and worst inclinations. Peers, friends, and collaborators describe him as having been productive and seemingly happy. “Swimming,” the last album released before his death, is a testament to the fact that Mac was producing some of his best music to date. As the lyrics, he was definitely struggling with addiction and depression, but also seemed committed to finding ways to navigate them. As his tweets prove, he was very excited for his upcoming tour and had big plans. A week before he died, he had, by all accounts, a great day with fellow artist and collaborator, Thundercat, celebrating the 12th birthday of the latter’s daughter. As his assistant explained after his death, Miller was trying to stay sober, but “slip-ups” were common, and two occurred in the last week of his life. The second one proved to be his last.

Mac Miller was found in his home On September 7, 2018 by his assistant and pronounced dead shortly thereafter. The death was deemed accidental, and was the result of a “mixed drug toxicity” of alcohol, cocaine, and fentanyl. He was just 26 years old at the time.

When news broke of Mac Miller’s death, fans around the world mourned. Jay-Z name-dropped the young rapper in 2018, calling him “nice”; Miller was so excited that he had the tweet framed. To be recognized by one of your idols is any artist’s dream come true. And Miller was nice. Friends, family, and collaborators will tell you that, even when struggling with addiction and depression, he continued to be defined by his kindness and compassion. But Mac Miller was also so much more. He was a hero to his hometown of Pittsburgh, having even been given the key to the city back in 2013. He was a creative juggernaut, a musical innovator, and a lyricist willing to bare his soul. His legacy is established, even if we never hear another song after 2020’s “Circles.” But, like other great rappers before him, Miller is thought to have left behind a massive library of unreleased songs, giving many fans reason to hope that he’ll continue to gift us with music for years to come.