East Liberty mural honors Pittsburgh native Mac Miller

A Pittsburgh artist and other community members celebrated Mac Miller’s life Wednesday in creating a 25-foot mural of the late rapper and Pittsburgh native in the city’s East Liberty neighborhood.

The afternoon of painting, organized by the Moving the Lives of Kids (MLK) Mural Project, comes 10 days before the one-year anniversary of Miller’s death from an accidental overdose.

“We just wanted to do something to commemorate him in the city (where) he was so loved,” said Kyle Holbrook, an artist and founder of MLK. “To have him be here permanently — proud, big, looking over (Pittsburgh).”

Miller, born Malcolm J. McCormick, helped paint a mural with the group in 2008 in East Liberty, according to Holbrook.

Holbrook said he and other artists will be working on the mural along Paulson Avenue all week, and anyone is invited to come contribute.

“People can come anytime – come contribute and leave a message, leave a mark, or what Mac meant to them,” he said.

Pittsburgh is the flagship location for the MLK Mural project, founded in 2002. The idea is to use the creation of public art to keep kids busy when they’re not in school.

Miller, 26, was found unresponsive in his Los Angeles home shortly before noon on Sept. 8, 2018. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

“It’s a sad time, but it can be a happy time when you think about his life, his importance, what he was able to do for Pittsburgh,” Holbrook said. “We want to really focus on his life and the positive things.”

Holbrook, a Wilkinsburg native, painted the Roberto Clemente mural at the Clemente Museum in June.

Miller grew up in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood and attended Allderdice High School. He told the Tribune-Review in 2015 that there was “no better feeling” than being back in Pittsburgh.