Rapper Mac Miller dies of apparent overdose

Rapper Mac Miller has reportedly died at the age of 26.

Miller, who has been very open about his substance abuse issues, died of an apparent overdose on Friday, law enforcement sources told TMZ. He was reportedly found at his San Fernando Valley, Calif., home after a friend called 911. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to TMZ.

Reps for Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His family released a statement later in the day.

“Malcolm McCormick known and adored by fans as Mac Miller, has tragically passed away at the age of 26,” they said in a statement released to TMZ. “He was a bright light in this world for his family, friends and fans. thank you for your prayers.”

Miller, who was born Malcolm James McCormick, had reportedly been struggling since he and pop star Ariana Grande broke up earlier this year.

In May, he was arrested after crashing his car in the San Fernando Valley, with his blood alcohol level almost twice the legal limit. He was charged with two counts of driving under the influence last month.

Shortly after news of their split when public, Grande called the relationship “toxic” while defending herself against fans who accused her and now-fiancé Pete Davidson of being the source of Miller’s downward spiral.

“How absurd that you minimize female self-respect and self-worth by saying someone should stay in a toxic relationship because he wrote an album about them, which btw isn’t the case (just Cinderella is ab me),” she wrote in a note posted to Twitter. “I am not a babysitter or a mother and no woman should feel that they need to be.

In the wake of his death, Grande deleted a number of her Instagram stories and turned off the ability to comment on her posts.

Born in Pittsburgh, Miller broke through with his debut album “Blue Slide Park” in 2011, which featured the hit “Party on Fifth Ave.” The independently distributed album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts but failed to catch on with critics who repeatedly reduced it to little more than “frat rap.”

Seemingly stung by this, the rapper moved to Los Angeles and dedicated himself to refining his craft, evolving quickly and working with respected artists like Earl Sweatshirt, Action Bronson and Jay Electronica along the way.

“THE MAN WAS TOO GENEROUS ! HE EXTENDED HIS HOME TO ALL OF US . PEACE TO THE MILLER FAMILY AND THE WHOLE EXTENDED FAMILY,” rapper Earl Sweatshirt tweeted shortly after news of Miller’s death broke. “WE HURTIN”

By the time his sophomore album, “Watching Movies with the Sound Off,” had been released in 2013, Miller had won over the critics.

His most recent album, “Swimming,” was released on Aug. 3 and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard charts. On Thursday night, Miller posted an Instagram story of him listening to the track “So It Goes” from the album, which features the lyric, “Nine lives, never die, f–k a heaven, I’m still gettin’ high.”

On Thursday, Vulture published an interview with Miller in which he addressed his willingness to be candid about his emotions and struggles.

“I used to rap super openly about really dark s–t,” he told the magazine, “because that’s what I was experiencing at the time. That’s fine, that’s good, that’s life. It should be all the emotions.”

Miller had been set to go on tour starting next month.

Warning: Explicit Language