Nicholas Diego Leanos (born September 6, 1996), better known as Lil Xan ( ) or simply Diego, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from
Redlands, California. He is best known for his song "
Betrayed", which was certified platinum by the
RIAA and peaked at number 64 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100. On April 6, 2018, Leanos released his debut studio album, ''
Total Xanarchy
''Total Xanarchy'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil Xan. It was released on April 6, 2018, by Columbia Records. The album features guest appearances from Charli XCX, YG, Rae Sremmurd, 2 Chainz, Diplo, Yo Gotti, Rich the Kid, and S ...
''.
Youth
Growing up, Leanos was poor and lived in motels most of his childhood.
He attended
Redlands East Valley High School
Redlands East Valley High School is a public English medium co-educational high school in Redlands, California, United States, near the San Bernardino Mountains. The school opened in the 1997-1998 school year as part of the Redlands Unified Sc ...
, but dropped out of high school in his freshman year, and spent several years at home unemployed.
Leanos took a job as a street cleaner and sold drugs before he began rapping.
Leanos later pursued a photography career in support of several friends who were rappers. He eventually had his camera stolen, and chose to begin rapping in lieu of investing in a new camera.
Career
His stage name is derived from Xanax, the trade name of the prescription drug
alprazolam
Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonly u ...
. Leanos began to gain recognition through platforms such as
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
and
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. His popularity grew after the release of the music video for his song "Betrayed" in August 2017. The song peaked at number 64 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100.
In an interview with ''
XXL'', Leanos announced his debut album ''
Total Xanarchy
''Total Xanarchy'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil Xan. It was released on April 6, 2018, by Columbia Records. The album features guest appearances from Charli XCX, YG, Rae Sremmurd, 2 Chainz, Diplo, Yo Gotti, Rich the Kid, and S ...
''.
The album includes collaborations with artists such as
Diplo and
Swae Lee.
In December 2017, Leanos announced his ''Total Xanarchy'' tour, which sold out in five hours according to ''Billboard''.
In 2018, Leanos considered changing his stage name to Diego in order to support his anti-drug message; however, he has since expressed uncertainty toward officially going through with the pseudonym change.
Leanos released his debut studio album, ''Total Xanarchy'' on April 6, 2018. The album received mostly negative reviews from critics but was a moderate commercial success, debuting at number ten on the ''Billboard'' 200 and selling 28,000 copies in its first week. The following month in May 2018, Leanos announced the mixtape ''Heartbreak Soldiers'' which was released on July 8, 2018. In September 2018, Leanos announced he had been working on an album titled ''Be Safe'' as a tribute to
Mac Miller, as these were the last words he said to Leanos before his death.
Leanos has given a number of contradictory statements regarding his yet-unreleased second album. Initially, he planned on releasing his ''Be Safe'' project in 2019, but the album entered production limbo and was eventually scrapped. In November 2019, he announced his next album would be titled ''When September Ends'' and released an accompanying album cover, but this also never came to fruition. In January 2020, Leanos announced that his album was finished and that it would be called ''Sorry I Didn't Quit'', revealing a new album cover that took inspiration from
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...
's ''
Sorry 4 the Wait
''Sorry 4 the Wait'' is a mixtape by American rapper Lil Wayne, named as an attempt to apologize for the continued delay of his ninth album, ''Tha Carter IV'' (4). Wayne said the mixtape would have about ten songs and be similar to '' No Ceiling ...
'', but this project appears to have been scrapped.
On June 24th, 2022, Leanos released the EP ''have a nice day'' - his first project in over three years - as a collaboration with fellow emo rapper
Chris Miles. The EP includes a feature from
Lil Tracy
Jazz Ishmael Butler (born October 3, 1995), professionally known as Lil Tracy, is an American rapper and singer. He was also known under the name Yung Bruh during the beginning of his career. Tracy is best known for his collaborations with the l ...
and was supported by the single "Miss Me".
Artistry
Leanos has listed
Pharrell Williams and
N.E.R.D. as early influences in
hip hop, with other influences including
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
,
Cage the Elephant
Cage the Elephant is an American rock band formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They moved to England, U.K. and settled in London in 2008, shortly before their self-titled first album was released. The band currently consists of Matt S ...
and
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout mul ...
.
Leanos has also described
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
and
Mac Miller as musical inspirations.
According to ''Pigeons & Planes'', Leanos' music started off as "typical trap" and later shifted towards "a murkier, dream-like sound".
''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' has described Leanos as part of a "sad rap" movement.
Personal life
Leanos started dating singer and actress
Noah Cyrus
Noah Lindsey Cyrus (born January 8, 2000) is an American singer and actress. As a child actress she voiced the titular character in the English dub of the film ''Ponyo'' (2008), as well as having minor roles on shows like ''Hannah Montana'' and ' ...
on June 30, 2018. The couple released the collaboration "Live or Die" in August 2018. They broke up in September 2018, with both parties accusing the other of being unfaithful; Leanos also claimed that the relationship was forced by the couple's record label, Columbia, though he later said he was responsible.
Leanos has been open about his former addiction to
benzodiazepines (particularly
Xanax
Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonly ...
) and
opiates. He overcame his Xanax addiction after two years.
Leanos is outspoken against Xanax abuse and urges people to stop using the drug altogether.
In February 2019, Leanos announced that he and his then-fiancée Annie Smith were expecting a child. Smith, however, claimed to have had a
miscarriage,
sharing the information about the incident via a video and photographs on Instagram.
In a ''
No Jumper
Adam John Grandmaison (born November 24, 1983), more commonly known as Adam22, is an American podcaster and YouTuber. He is best known for being the creator and host of pop culture-oriented podcast ''No Jumper''.Grierson, Tim. How Adam22 Tur ...
'' interview weeks later, Leanos said he had suspicions that Smith had been faking her pregnancy after a number of the rapper's fans on social media pointed out that the couple's ultrasound photos looked identical to ones that could be found on Google, and the couple would eventually split.
Discography
Albums
Mixtapes
Extended plays
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1996 births
Living people
21st-century American rappers
American hip hop singers
American rappers of Mexican descent
Columbia Records artists
Emo rap musicians
Hispanic and Latino American singers
Mumble rappers
People from Redlands, California
Pop rappers
Rappers from California
Singer-songwriters from California
Trap musicians
West Coast hip hop musicians