Entertainment Music Mac Miller's Life in Photos The beloved rapper died on Sept. 7, 2018 at his home in Studio City, California By Diane J. Cho Diane J. Cho Diane J. Cho was the Features Editor of PEOPLE Digital from 2019 to 2022. She worked at the brand for nearly four years covering news, features, human interest, evergreen, holiday gift guides and more. She launched the How I Parent and What It's Really Like to Be …. digital series and has interviewed several celebrities and influential leaders within the entertainment industry. Prior to joining PEOPLE, Diane worked at Bustle, VH1 and Complex. She received her bachelor's degree in Journalism from Rutgers University and her master's degree from Columbia Journalism School. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on January 19, 2023 01:35PM EST Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos 01 of 12 Mac Miller's Tragic Death David Wolff - Patrick/Redferns via Getty Malcolm James McCormick, known as Mac Miller to friends and fans, was pronounced dead at 11:51 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2018, at his Studio City, California home. He was only 26. His sudden and tragic death was ruled an accidental overdose due to mixed drug toxicity, PEOPLE confirmed at the time. The McCormick family buried Miller in their hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 02 of 12 Mac Miller's Music Taylor Hill/FilmMagic The news sent shock waves of sadness around the world as fans, friends and family grieved one of music's most talented stars. From his Blue Slide Park debut in 2011 to Circles, which was released in January 2020, two years after his death, Miller's music continues to touch the lives of millions. 03 of 12 Mac Miller and Ariana Grande Ex-girlfriend Ariana Grande was especially hit hard with the news. Ten days after Miller's death, Grande's team announced that she would be taking "much needed time to heal and mend." She later posted a note to Miller on Instagram, alongside of a clip of him speaking, which read, "i adored you from the day i met you when i was nineteen and i always will. i can't believe you aren't here anymore. i really can't wrap my head around it." "we talked about this. so many times. i'm so mad, i'm so sad i don't know what to do. you were my dearest friend. for so long. above anything else," she continued. "i'm so sorry i couldn't fix or take your pain away. i really wanted to. the kindest, sweetest soul with demons he never deserved. i hope you're okay now. rest." 04 of 12 Mac Miller and Ariana Grande Lloyd Bishop/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty A source confirmed to PEOPLE that Grande was heartbroken over Miller's death. "She can't believe he isn't here anymore. He was such a special person to her," the source said at the time. "She is very, very sad. … This is a nightmare for her." The two collaborated on Grande's 2013 track "The Way" and then took their romance public in September 2016. But after two years of dating, Miller and Grande split in late April 2018. 05 of 12 Mac Miller Remembered Christopher Polk. On Oct. 31, 2018, close friends Ty Dolla $ign and Thundercat were together alongside numerous musicians — including Action Bronson, Anderson.Paak, Chance the Rapper, Dylan Reynolds, Domo Genesis, Earl Sweatshirt, J.I.D, John Mayer, Miguel, Njomza, ScHoolboy Q, SZA and Vince Staples — to celebrate Miller's legacy at his celebration of life concert benefitting the newly formed The Mac Miller Circles Fund. 06 of 12 Mac Miller's Famous Fans Kevin Mazur/Getty Artists from all corners of the entertainment industry shared their condolences on social media. Chance the Rapper: "I don't 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." J. Cole: "Rest In Peace to the great soul Mac Miller" Post Malone: "God f------ dammit. You were such an incredible person. You changed so many lives. Had so much love in your heart. You inspired me throughout highschool, and I wouldn't be where I was today without you. Never a more kind and sincere and beautiful person. I fucking love you mac." Joel Madden: "Rest In Peace Mac Miller and deepest sympathy to his family. This is a very sad day." G-Eazy: "Completely devastated and heart broken I'm at a loss for words mac you were like a brother to me and were there for me in the hardest of times, especially this summer. I can't believe this is real." Shawn Mendes: "Unreal. So sad. RIP Mac Miller" 07 of 12 Mac Miller Remembered Jared Wickerham/Getty In January 2020, fans gathered in Pittsburgh at Stage AE to celebrate the city's hometown hero on what would've been his 28th birthday. Hundreds showed up to pay their respects, CBS Pittsburgh reported. Fans spent the day listening to Miller's music, looking at art inspired by the star and sharing birthday cake. "I love everything about Pittsburgh and Mac Miller made Pittsburgh great," fan Stephanie Oster told the outlet. "You look at other rappers, they don't really talk about their city as much as he did, childhood memories, all of that," fan Adam Klenovich added. "[He] just represents everything that Pittsburgh is." 08 of 12 Mac Miller's Mother Miller's mother, Karen Meyers, posted this sweet mother-son photo one month after his death and captioned it with an angel emoji. 09 of 12 Mac Miller's Mother "He's always been a poet and a writer. Growing up, he loved performing and singing and playing instruments and generally being the center of the universe," Meyers told Complex in an interview from 2014 about her son. "He's got a lot of magnetism, always has, ever since he was a baby. I'm very supportive of him." 10 of 12 Mac Miller's Mother Meyers shared that she listened to her son's growing catalogue as he became a rising star and told Complex, "So much of his music, I love. I'm his biggest fan. His first and biggest." 11 of 12 Mac Miller Memorialized Katharine Lotze/Getty Following the sad news of his death, fans created a memorial for the star at the corner of Fairfax and Melrose Avenues on Sept. 8, 2018, in L.A. 12 of 12 Mac Miller Memorialized Katharine Lotze/Getty The makeshift memorial was filled with posters, photos, candles and notes dedicated to the late rapper.