Mac Miller death: 'Heartbroken' Childish Gambino pays tribute to 'sweetest guy' at Chicago gig
Childish Gambino paused his concert to pay tribute to Mac Miller, who he described as “the sweetest guy”.
Miller was found unresponsive at his California home on Friday morning after a reported overdose. He was 26.
Gambino, real name Donald Glover, asked fans to put down their phones in order to not “commodify this moment” as he opened up about their friendship at his gig in Chicago.
“This kid he was so nice,” he said. “He was the sweetest guy, he was so nice. And we were both internet music kids, and a lot of critics were like, ‘This corny-ass white dude, this corny-ass black dude,’ and we used to talk. And this kid, he just loved music.”
He said his heart is “broken” before dedicating his track Riot to the US rapper.
“We should be allowed to be sad about it,” he said. “Like my heart was broken and I feel good about being sad, because it tells me that he was special, that I had a special moment. Everybody in this room deserves that.”
He finished: “I just want to say I love you Mac. This song is for him.”
Miller’s family confirmed the news of his death in a statement, in which they described him as a “bright light in this world”.
The statement read: “Malcolm McCormick, known and adored by fans as Mac Miller, has tragically passed away at the age of 26.
“He was a bright light in this world for his family, friends and fans. Thank you for your prayers. Please respect our privacy. There are no further details as to the cause of his death at this time.”
Ariana Grande, who dated Miller for two years before they broke up earlier this year, posted a captionless black and white picture of the musician on Instagram.
Snoop Dogg, Ed Sheeran, Drake, Chance The Rapper and Post Malone were among those who paid tribute in the wake of the tragic news, as well as Sir Elton John who dedicated his song Don’t Let The Sun Go Down to Miller during the opening night of his farewell tour.
The LA coroner said the cause of Miller’s death is yet to be determined and that a post-mortem examination will be carried out.
