Was Mac Miller a big-time musician before his death in 2018 or did he only become huge after the fact?

I'm sorry if this possibly triggers some of his more die-hard fans, but was Mac Miller a big deal in his genre before his unfortunate and untimely death in 2018 or did he benefit from a sort of martyrdom effect that made him a lot more prominent than he initially was? To be honest with you and not to speak ill of the dead here, but I don't recall hearing any of his music or reading about him in any sort of capacity prior to 2018. Nowadays, you see his image on a lot of things, ranging from posters to t-shirts, similar to icons like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Jim Morrison.

Not trying to offend but just genuinely wondering from the people in the know. Please be kind.

Edit: Wow, so many responses to this! Thanks to all those who kept it civil in terms of helping me with this question. It seems that the consensus view is that he was fairly big with a lot of young people in the early 2010s - when a lot of younger millenials went to high school, myself included - but kind of ebbed and flowed afterwards, depending on who you ask.