On Sept. 7, 2018, the world stood still for a few minutes. Another talented, young artist had left us so suddenly. Malcolm McCormick, also known as Mac Miller, passed away from an accidental overdose on Fentanyl, a very lethal opioid. The coroner reported that alcohol and cocaine were found in his body as well.
The sharpness from his sudden passing had since dulled, but on Sept. 29, 2020, the trial for the people involved in the death got pushed back to Feb. 23, 2021. So, what exactly happened to Miller?
It all starts on Sept. 4, 2018, when Miller reaches out to a man named Cameron Pettit looking to buy oxycodone, cocaine and Xanax. TMZ also reports he was looking to purchase Percocet’s as well. He then reaches out to a woman named Mia Johansson asking which sex workers would be available, this is when Pettit supposedly has the previous bought drugs indirectly delivered to Miller.
The court document states that on Sept. 5, 2018, Miller and Pettit texted about having the substances delivered to a recording studio Miller was at. Johansson also sold him oxycodone during these couple of days as well.
On the day of his death, a plastic bag was found inside a coat in Millers bathroom closet containing counterfeit oxycodone pills that were mixed with Fentanyl. A magazine was also found covered with blue-colored powder with a rolled piece of paper and a gift card.
Pettit has been charged with distribution of a controlled substance and a drug trafficking charge in Miller’s case. Private messages between Pettit and his friends after Miller’s death have been released stating things like “I am not great … Most likely I will die in jail,” And says he is “ready to get off the grid and move to another country.” He is being charged in relation to Miller’s death because his oxycodone and Johansson’s were both tested, and Pettit’s came out as being counterfeit.
“He was a lyrical genius and built his own brand/style in the rap game as a white Jewish kid from Pittsburgh. He was ‘Most Dope’.” – Griffin Baker
Griffin Baker is a long time Miller fan. “What I like most about Mac was his multiple alter egos he featured over the years. In his 2013 album ‘Watching Movies With The Sound Off’, he starts with the first song ‘Star Room’ and it is a recording of his past alter ego Thomas rambling on and then jumps right back into Mac’s non auto-tuned voice.”
Miller received his first Grammy nomination months after he passed away. In 2010, when he was only seventeen, he signed to a record label and when he started to gain fame, huge record labels around the country were begging for a shot to have him. Then by 21, he launched his own record label ‘REMember Music’.
Also, in 2010, he took off on his first tour, ‘The Incredibly Dope Tour’, which sold out in every location. In this same year his first single, Knock Knock, debuted on YouTube where it went viral. By 2011, he was No. 1 on Billboard 200 for his first album, Blue Slide Park.
He may have only won two awards for his music but I’m sure many can agree that his talents deserved so many more.
John Allison, a fan of Miller since 2016, thinks highly of his talents and career. “He really paved a way for hip-hop artists, large amounts of artists credited him saying he is part of their inspiration to get into the industry. The impact he left behind with his fans is remarkable. Any Mac fan can say great things about him because there are only great things to say.”
