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Report: Rapper Mac Miller dead at 26

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Brick StowellRapper Mac Miller has died of suspected overdose, Variety reports. He was 26.

According to the LAPD, the coroner’s office was called to an address in Los Angeles for a death investigation.  The property is owned by Miller, according to public records.  ABC News has not yet been able to confirm his death.

Miller, perhaps best known for his feature on Ariana Grande‘s top-10 hit “The Way,” had just released his new album, Swimming, last month.  It debuted at #3 on the Billboard album chart.

Miller dated Ariana from 2016 to 2018 and provided emotional support after the 2017 bombing following her concert in Manchester, England.  He also performed with her at her One Love Manchester benefit concert later that year.  After they split in May, Miller wrecked his car and was later arrested for DUI and hit-and-run.  In the past, he’d struggled with an addiction to the cough syrup mixture known as “purple drank,” also known as “lean.”

Following their breakup, Ariana responded to fans who blamed his downward spiral on her breaking up with Miller, by writing, “I am not a babysitter or a mother and no woman should feel that they need to be. I have cared for him and tried to support his sobriety and prayed for his balance for years (and always will of course) but shaming/blaming women for a man’s inability to keep his s— together is a very major problem.” 

Ariana also described their relationship as “toxic.”

Born Malcolm James McCormick in Pittsburgh, Miller got his first record deal in 2010. Having already gained a following via mixtapes, touring and singles like “Donald Trump,” his debut, Blue Slide Park, released in 2011, entered the Billboard album chart at #1.  Starting in 2013, he starred in his own MTV2 reality series, Mac Miller and the Most Dope Family, which ran for two seasons.

Miller continued releasing successful albums and mixtapes and in 2014, he signed with Warner Bros.  In addition to guesting on Ariana’s hit, “The Way,” he also appeared on tracks and collaborated with artists including Cobra Starship, Cee Lo Green, Anderson.Paak and Juicy J.

Miller was also a successful producer who occasionally used the name Larry Fisherman. He worked on his own records, as well as releases by Vince Staples, SZA and Riff Raff, among others.

Upon hearing the news of Miller’s reported death, Chance the Rapper tweeted, “I dont know what to say Mac Miller took me on my second tour ever. But beyond helping me launch my career he was one of the sweetest guys I ever knew. Great man. I loved him for real. Im completely broken. God bless him.”

Miller’s good friend and fellow Pittsburgh rapper Wiz Khalifa tweeted, “Praying for Mac’s family and that he rest easy.”

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