Most Dope: The Extraordinary Life of Mac Miller

Music journalist Cantor wrote this first biography of rap legend Mac Miller (1992–2018) without the participation of Miller’s family and estate but manages to provide a respectful and moving account of Miller’s career and complicated life. Raised in affluence, Miller knew by age 15 that he wanted to be a rapper. An unabashed self-promoter, he mastered social media (he was one of the first to use Twitter). Miller wanted his music to reflect the concerns of everyday kids, and his songs were a mixed bag of sentimentality and crassness, as he wrote about his mother, his grandparents’ love story, and the wealth of Donald Trump. Cantor touches on Miller’s brief reality show on MTV, his romantic relationship with Ariana Grande, his struggles with addiction and visits to rehab, and his death at 26 due to an overdose of fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol, but the focus is on Miller’s development as an artist and the relationships that helped his career evolve.