Pittsburgh, PA -Ā 

Tyler, The Creator has paid tribute to Mac Miller while performing in the late rapper’s hometown of Pittsburgh.

At his Chromakopia Tour stop at the PPG Paints Arena on Friday (March 28), Tyler took some time out to remember his friend and collaborator, who died of a drug overdose in 2018.

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He said to the crowd: ā€œWhat a special place. I had a friend that’s from here. His name was Malcolm. Safe travels, rest in peace to him.ā€

The Odd Future founder then shared a fond memory of Mac, saying: ā€œThe last time I was here, he rode me around the city. It was great.ā€

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ā€œI’m just happy to be back so I want to dedicate tonight’s performance to my friend Mac Miller,ā€ Tyler added, prompting a warm reaction from the crowd.

The two previously worked together on 2013’s ā€œO.K.,ā€ while Mac also made a guest appearance on Tyler’s former Adult Swim show Loiter Squad.

Last year, Tyler, The Creator talked about Mac Miller when addressing white rappers in Hip Hop on Maverick Carter’s SpringHill podcast.

Airing his grievances with the viral rapper ian, Tyler said: ā€œThere’s this kid right now, this white kid, regular Caucasian man, and he’s like mocking Future and Gucci Mane, like rap music. And people are like, ā€˜This shit hard!ā€™ā€

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ā€œIt’s not even like satire, it’s like, ā€˜I’m just joking, I’m just mocking it.’ But I’m like, ā€˜No, no, no, you can’t do [that].’ And I hold rap music so close to my heart ’cause this shit changed my life and everyone’s life around me, and I’m a nerd about this shit.ā€

Tyler continued: ā€œThis is like weird and I’m looking at it and something about it don’t even sit well with me, in comparison to someone like a Mac Miller or Eminem who didn’t seem like they were mocking it; they had a genuine love for it.ā€

SZA Pens Heartfelt Tribute To Mac Miller After ā€˜Balloonerism’ Feature: ā€˜I Miss My Friend’
SZA Pens Heartfelt Tribute To Mac Miller After ā€˜Balloonerism’ Feature: ā€˜I Miss My Friend’

Mac Miller’s second posthumous album, Balloonerism, was released in January of this year.

The project, which features a guest appearance from SZA and was originally recorded in 2014, debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and earned 81,000 equivalent units in its first week.

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Described as one of his most experimental musical efforts, Balloonerism was shelved for over a decade as the Most Dope MC opted to move in a different direction.

However, Mac was reportedly considering releasing the project before his death as it had circulated in various unofficial forms online over the years.