Well-known and respected rapper Mac Miller (Malcolm James McCormick) was pronounced dead at 11:51 am in his Los Angeles home on September 7th due to a drug overdose. At the time, a spokesperson for the LAPD said officers “responded to a death investigation” near his home, but couldn’t confirm the name of the deceased.

Mac Miller was only 26 years old and had just released another album a month before his death. Although he had publicly shared his problems with addiction, his accidental overdose came as a shock to everyone. His music made a huge impact on people and many of them took to the internet to express that after hearing of his death. One fan tweeted: “Mac Miller’s music so deeply affected me that his growth felt like my growth, his loss was my loss, his music brought me so much comfort.”

He was open about his battle with depression and incorporated his struggles into the music he made, especially his most recent album Swimming, which was released in early August. Mac Miller’s music was special because most people could relate to it in some way. Portage Northern Sophomore Gracie Torrence said, “I loved his music because it always helped me through tough times.”

Many of Mac Miller’s fans never got the chance to meet him in person, but felt connected to him because of his music and were very upset to hear about his death.  Junior Maham Khan said: “It feels so unreal. He was a very inspirational man. Adored his fans, was deep and real with his music. It’s heartbreaking knowing he’s no longer living in this world.”

Mac Miller started rapping when he was only 14 years old. In 2011, he released his first album, and started his own record label 2 years after. Overall, he had a very successful music career, leaving behind a total of five studio albums.