Malcolm James McCormick, the rapper and producer known as Mac Miller, died at his Studio City home on Friday. He was 26.
Officials pronounced him dead at 11:51 a.m. after finding him unresponsive inside his residence in the 11600 block of Valleycrest Drive, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner.
While authorities have not released a cause of death, sources told the Los Angeles Times that he died of a suspected drug overdose.
“He was a bright light in this world for his family, friends, and fans,” his family said in a statement obtained by CNN.
Crews responded to an unspecified medical complaint at the rapper’s home, the Los Angeles Fire Department had told KTLA. Los Angeles police had said they were investigating a possible death at the location.
Footage from the scene showed several law enforcement officers at the property.
Missy Elliott, Solange Knowles, J. Cole and other celebrities mourned Miller’s death on social media.
Miller began his music career as a teenager by putting out mixtapes in his native Pittsburgh. In 2012, his first album, “Blue Slide Park,” became the first independent debut album to hit the top of the Billboard chart in more than 16 years. Miller was 19.
He released his fifth studio album, “Swimming,” last month.
He was set to perform a series of concerts in support of the record starting in late October, with the opener scheduled to take place at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.
Hours before his death, on Thursday, the rapper had posted multiple tweets indicating his excitement for the upcoming performances, saying “I just wanna go on tour.”
At times, Miller’s personal life attracted as much — if not more — attention than his professional accomplishments, particularly in the case of his relationship with singer Ariana Grande.
The pair dated for almost two years and recorded multiple songs together, including “My Favorite Part and “The Way.” Grande and Miller ended their relationship in May.
Shortly after their split, Grande started dating “Saturday Night Live” star Pete Davidson. The couple got engaged weeks later.
In a statement about her breakup with Miller, Grande said there were times when the “toxic relationship” took its toll.
“Of course, I didn’t share about how hard or scary it was while it was happening but it was,” she wrote in May. “I will continue to pray from the bottom of my heart that he figures it all out.”
Miller has been open in the past about his battles with substance addiction.
He talked about his quest for sobriety in a 2016 Vogue profile, saying, “I’m just changing how I live life, my state of mind…When you first get sober you feel like a superhero. You feel real emotion because you’ve been suppressing it forever. It’s so much easier to navigate what’s important.”
Miller was arrested on DUI and hit-and-run charges in Los Angeles in May.
He was known for channeling his struggles into his music.
In a profile article published the day before his death by Vulture, Miller said, “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.”