The world was left in absolute awe and disbelief as news of rapper Mac Miller being found dead in his San Fernando Valley household surfaced Sept. 7. The 26-year-old rapper had a bright future in the hip-hop game, as he had been slowly growing his fan base and popularity, especially in recent years. With the release of his album “Swimming” on August 3, and its very swift rise to the number 3 spot on the Billboard 200, Miller was certainly on the come-up. Unfortunately, this rise to major success was put to a sudden end when Miller overdosed on a currently undisclosed class of drugs.

Born January 19, 1992, Malcolm McCormick passed away just four and a half months shy of the infamous “27 Club” (an obscurely long list of musicians who have died at age 27). The demise this man met was quite an ironic one as well. In a 2016 interview with Fader Magazine, Miller stated, “I’d rather be the corny white rapper than the drugged-out mess who can’t even get out of his house. Overdosing is just not cool. You don’t go down in history because you overdose. You just die.” So with this rapper’s clear opposition towards and judgment of a departure from this world with drugs, what led to his anticlimactic fate?

In 2011, Miller found his first major success in the world of hip-hop with the release of his studio album “Best Day Ever.” This album featured the platinum-certified single “Donald Trump.” Following his blow-up, Miller began smoking large amounts of marijuana to cope with the stress he faced while touring, a habit not at all uncommon for rappers in this day and age. However, in 2013, Miller confessed to using lean as a method of coping with his depression. In 2014, he released his studio album “Faces” in which he made plenty of references to hard drugs such as cocaine, angel dust, and cough syrup. “Every single song is about drugs,” Miller said in an interview with Billboard. “[The outro to “Faces”] ‘Grand Finale’ was supposed to be the last song I made on Earth.”

But this wasn’t the case. In 2015, Miller released what is now his most critically acclaimed and popularized project to date, “GO:OD AM.” When this album came out, Miller claimed that the only drug use he was partaking in at the time was that of cigarettes. This was until he got addicted to a new substance: love. Mac Miller started dating superstar singer Ariana Grande in July of 2016, whom he had previously promised was nothing more than a very close friend.

Of course, unlike other drugs, love is an addiction one is eventually forced to quit without any rehabilitation or twelve-step programs. In May of 2018, it was confirmed that Grande and Miller had separated. This was shortly after Miller was arrested for crashing his car and received a DUI. Though nothing is confirmed, the public speculated that this event may have ended things between the two stars. However, what’s more likely is that Grande couldn’t bear Miller’s drug abuse on her shoulders anymore. Following their break up, Grande still called Miller her best friend.

So it is for this reason that many believe that Miller’s sudden demise may have been due to Grande and the breakup. Though it is very possible this may have played a factor, Miller had been abusing drugs for years before his heart was torn to pieces by a woman he loved dearly. Could Grande have finally pushed him off the edge he’d been hanging on for years before or was his fall solely at the fault of his?

As drug abuse continues to be popularized and shed into a good light by almost every hip-hop artist currently in the game, more are starting to drop dead. We, as witnesses, must remember the consequences associated with meddling with these toxic substances. After all, they took the life of a legend last week.