Malcom McCormick knew he had to start it young to make it in the international rap scene. At 17, he reached that point. Born January 19, 1992, McCormick is known more as Mac Miller and formerly as Easy Mac who was once part of rap group The Ill Spoken. He was raised in Point Breeze, Pittsburgh, Penn. by Christian father and Jewish mother. He attended Winchester Thurston School and then Taylor Allderdice High School in which he began getting serious about a career in music.
As a teenager, Miller had wild days with his friends, getting arrested for house parties and crossing the border to Canada. But once he found out hip-hop, it was all he thought about. Teaching himself how to play various instruments since 6, Miller formed The Ill Spoken with fellow Pittsburgh emcee Beedie. They experienced success especially after the mixtape "How High" featuring DJ Diggz and Rated R. The duo opened shows for other artists including Soulja Boy.
Miller flew solo with the mixtapes "But My Mackin Ain't Easy", "The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown" and "The High Life". It was in 2010 that he got a recording deal with Rostrum Records whose president has known his talent for quite some time. His skill developed during this period of time and shown on the mixtape "K.I.D.S." which was released by the label in August 2010.
With more mixtapes under his belt, Miller gained experience as well as connection to great musicians such as Just Blaze and 9th Wonder. He prepared himself for a major release, dropping his first single "Knock Knock" in November 2010. His EP "On and On and Beyond" reached the shelves in March 2011 as precursor of his debut album. "Blue Side Park" was then ready to be released on November 8, 2011.
"My overall goal is to be able to speak and connect with the world. It's a pretty big goal to set for myself, but with what I'm seeing right now and the path that I'm going on, I think that I can do it because I have experience with all different backgrounds and genres of music. I'm trying to have it where your straight trap dudes are listening to [my] music, as well as your straight hip-hop heads and people who listen to the Beatles, and Led Zeppelin, and the Sex Pistols," Miller said.
"Blue Side Park" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard 200 after racking up 144,000 units. The success of the album prompted to Miller being included on XXL Magazine's Freshman Class of 2011. Also in the same year, he made his first TV appearance by starring as himself on VH1's "Single Ladies". Miller released a few of free songs after that, including a collaboration with Schoolboy Q on "PlaneCarBoat".
In the following year, Miller announced that his sophomore album "Watching Movies with the Sound Off" would be released in early 2013. Featuring guest appearances from the likes of Action Bronson and Tyler, the Creator, the album was described as very introspective and very personal. It finally hit the shelves on June 18, 2013 after the first season of his reality show "Mac Miller and the Most Dope Family" premiered on February 23. The album debuted at No. 3 on Billboard 200.
2013 was a busy year for Miller. He founded his own record label REMember Music in addition to producing Vince Staples' mixtape "Stolen Youth". He also embarked on a European tour along with fellow rappers Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz in October. In the same month, he released a self-produced mixtape titled "Delusional Thomas". His first live album, "Live From Space", was released on December 17.
The second season of his MTV reality show premiered on July 23, 2014. Afterward, he announced that he had finished working on his third studio album, "GO:OD AM". Released on September 18, 2015, the set launched at No. 4 on Billboard 200. In support of the album, he embarked on a world tour which began in September.
Miller began promoting his fourth album "The Divine Feminine" when he unleashed its first single "Dang!" featuring Anderson Paak on July 28, 2016. The second and third singles, "We" and "My Favorite Part" featuring Ariana Grande, were released on August 19 and September 9 respectively. The album itself arrived on September 16 and debuted at No. 2 on Billboard 200.
His personal life was put in the spotlight when he began dating Grande that year. The pair dated for almost two years before breaking up in 2018. The split didn’t stop him from working as he unveiled his fifth album "Swimming" on August 3. The set launched at No. 3 on Billboard 200 with 66,000 units.