Rapper Mac Miller's Final Album Set to be Released

The final recordings of the late Jewish rapper Mac Miller will be released on Jan. 17, his family announced in a statement.

Miller, 26, who was born Malcolm James McCormick, died Sept. 7, 2018, of an accidental drug overdose while in the middle of recording an album.

“Here we are. The act of having to write this at all feels surreal,” read a statement from Miller’s family. “At the time of his passing, Malcolm was well into the process of recording his companion album to ‘Swimming,’ entitled ‘Circles.’ This is a complicated process that has no right answer. No clear path. We simply know that it was important to Malcolm for the world to hear it.”

The family stated that producer Jon Brion “dedicated himself” to finishing the album.

“We are left to imagine where Malcolm was going and to appreciate where he was,” the statement concluded. “We hope you take the time to listen. The look on his face when everyone was listening said it all.”

Miller struggled with substance abuse for years, including during a high-profile relationship with pop star Ariana Grande.

He was found by police at his home in California’s San Fernando Valley and pronounced dead at the scene. He was about to start a concert tour the following month.

Less than 24 hours before his death, Miller tweeted information about his upcoming “Swimming” tour, noting, “I wish it started tomorrow.”

In a separate tweet, he wrote to his 8.4 million followers, “I just wanna go on tour.”

Miller was the son of Karen Meyers, a Jewish photographer, and Mark McCormick, a Christian architect. Miller described himself as “the coolest Jewish rapper,” in response to Drake‘s own claim to be “the best Jew in the Rap game.”

Miller spoke frequently about becoming a bar mitzvah and celebrating Jewish holidays growing up. He also had a Star of David tattoo on his hand.

Miller decided on a hip-hop career while in high school. “Once I hit 15, I got real serious about it and it changed my life completely,” he said. “I used to be into sports, play all the sports, go to all the high school parties. But once I found out hip-hop is almost like a job, that’s all I did.”

A self-taught musician, Miller played piano, guitar, drums, and bass.

Besides his performing career, Miller worked as a record producer under the pseudonym of Larry Fisherman.

In his song “S.D.S,” he described himself as a “Jewish Buddhist tryna consume the views of Christianity.”