Mac Miller, Due to Play Phoenix in November, Is Dead at 26

The rapper's Swimming Tour was due to arrive in Phoenix in November.

September 7, 2018

Mac Miller performs at Rolling Loud 2017 in Miami. Alex Markow / Miami New Times

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Mac Miller, the rapper that gained an intense following thanks to provocative personal songs and mixtapes, has died. His body was found by police at his home in Studio City, California. He was 26.

According to TMZ, the rapper, whose real name is Malcolm James McCormick, died of an apparent drug overdose. Miller has long been candid about his drug use in songs such as "Objects in the Mirror" and on his 2014 mixtape Faces, which has been described as autobiographical.

Hailing from Pittsburgh, Miller rose to fame in the early 2010s through internet-distributed mixtapes and albums such as Blue Slide Park and Best Day Ever, which featured the Sufjan Stevens-sampling single "Donald Trump." Before his election as president, Trump himself threatened the rapper on Twitter, demanding royalties.

Miller matured his style on subsequent albums such as Watching Movies With the Sound Off and the aforementioned Faces. His latest record, Swimming, was released on August 3; his Swimming Tour with Thundercat and J.I.D had been set to arrive in Phoenix on November 2. Phoenix New Times has contacted Live Nation to inquire about the tour's cancellation and will update this post with new information.

Miller had been in a long-term relationship with pop star Ariana Grande, which ended in May. Around the same time, he was involved in a car crash that led to a DUI arrest. Grande, who is now engaged to comedian Pete Davidson, tweeted at the time "pls take care of yourself."

Fellow Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa wrote on Twitter "Praying for Mac's family and that he rest easy."

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