Drake dedicated the first of his three shows at Boston's TD Garden to the late hip-hop heavyweight Mac Miller. Miller died of an apparent overdose on Friday at the age of 26.
"Tonight, I wanna dedicate this show to my late friend Mac Miller," Drake proclaimed to the adoring crowd with a finger raised in the air before rolling into his Scorpion epic "Emotionless."
Miller, born Malcolm McCormick, was found in his San Fernando Valley home Friday. “In the late morning of Sept. 7, Malcolm McCormick (dob 1/19/92) was found unresponsive in his home located in the 11600 block of Valleycrest Drive in Studio City," the County of Los Angeles medical examiner said in a statement. "Authorities were called and Miller was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:51 a.m. At this time, an autopsy is pending and a cause of death has not been determined.”
The young hip-hop star made waves in the early part of the decade for his frat-rap persona but had difficulty finding the same success with a reinvented sound in recent years. Miller openly struggled with substance abuse and was arrested for DUI in May.
The performer's substance abuse ultimately led to a break up with pop star Ariana Grande, his girlfriend of two years. "I am not a babysitter or a mother, and no woman should feel that they need to be," Grande wrote on Twitter. "I have cared for him and tried to support his sobriety and prayed for his balance for years (and always will of course)."
Watch Drake's heartwarming dedication below.
PHOTO: Getty Images