Mac Miller
The autopsy report of rapper and record producer Mac Miller (Malcolm James McCormick) — 1992–2018.
Early Life
Malcolm James McCormick was born January 19, 1992, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in the city's Point Breeze neighborhood. He began rapping at age 14 and taught himself piano, guitar, drums, and bass. As a teenager he signed with the independent Pittsburgh label Rostrum Records, the same label that launched Wiz Khalifa.
The Rise
Performing as Mac Miller, he broke through with the mixtapes K.I.D.S. (2010) and Best Day Ever (2011), building a devoted following with an easygoing style and relentless work ethic. His debut studio album, Blue Slide Park (2011), debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 — the first independently distributed debut album to top the chart since 1995.
The Music
Miller spent the rest of the decade evolving into one of hip-hop's most respected artists. Watching Movies with the Sound Off (2013) showed a darker, more experimental edge; GO:OD AM (2015) and The Divine Feminine (2016) broadened his sound into jazz, funk, and soul. His fifth album, Swimming, released in August 2018, earned a posthumous Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album. The companion album Circles, completed by producer Jon Brion, was released in January 2020.
The Death
On September 7, 2018, Miller was found unresponsive in his home in Studio City, Los Angeles, by his personal assistant. He was pronounced dead at the scene at age 26. On November 5, 2018, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office determined that he died from an accidental drug overdose due to “mixed drug toxicity” of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol.
Federal investigators later charged three men — Cameron Pettit, Stephen Walter, and Ryan Reavis — with distributing the counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl that led to his death. All three pleaded guilty and received federal prison sentences. Miller is buried at Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh.