Lil Xan

Biography

Nicholas Diego Leanos (born September 6, 1996), better known as Lil Xan ( ZANN) or simply Diego, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his song "Betrayed×Betrayed19 October 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Betrayed3:07", which peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. On April 6, 2018, Leanos released his debut studio album, Total Xanarchy×Total Xanarchy6 April 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Who I Am2:362Wake Up2:113Tick Tock2:344Diamonds2:495The Man2:586Saved by the Bell3:017Moonlight3:318Shine Hard3:589Round Here2:4810Basically1:4711Deceived2:0512Betrayed3:0713Slingshot1:3014Far2:2315Betrayed (remix)3:17. His second album, Diego×Diego20 September 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Not Ready2:322Roses On Your Desk2:003Misery2:164Bad For My Health2:485DEPRESSION2:286Used To2:337Won't Overdose2:438Run Away3:359Life Lessons2:2710Cutthroat1:5511New Jack1:4812So Pretty2:2113Ride For Me2:5014NODA2:5215Block Beaming1:5716Nightmares3:01, was released on September 6, 2024.

Early life

Leanos was born on September 6, 1996, in Redlands, California. He grew up poor, with his family living in motels during most of his childhood. He attended Redlands East Valley High School, but dropped out in his freshman year. He then 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

Leanos's stage name is derived from Xanax, the trade name of the prescription drug alprazolam. Leanos began to gain recognition through platforms such as SoundCloud and YouTube. His popularity grew after the release of the music video for his song "Betrayed×Betrayed19 October 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Betrayed3:07" in August 2017. The song peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. Following this success, he signed with Columbia Records in November 2017 for a three-album deal worth over $1 million.
In an interview with XXL later that month, Leanos announced his debut album would be titled Total Xanarchy×Total Xanarchy6 April 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Who I Am2:362Wake Up2:113Tick Tock2:344Diamonds2:495The Man2:586Saved by the Bell3:017Moonlight3:318Shine Hard3:589Round Here2:4810Basically1:4711Deceived2:0512Betrayed3:0713Slingshot1:3014Far2:2315Betrayed (remix)3:17 and would include 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 about officially going through with the pseudonym change.
Leanos released his debut studio album, Total Xanarchy×Xanarchy7 July 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Xanarchy2:29, on April 6, 2018. The album received mostly negative reviews but was a modest 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×Heartbreak Soldiers21 September 2018 · EPSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Not the Same1:422Better Days2:033Heartbreak Soldier2:234Oh No2:505Emotions2:456Honesty3:24, which dropped on all platforms on July 8, 2018. Later in 2018 he released the EP Xanarchy Militia, and in 2019 he released the mixtape Heartbreak Soldiers Pt. 2 and the EP Fireworks, all of which were released exclusively on SoundCloud without any involvement from Columbia.
Leanos promised to release a second album multiple times over his career, but each time they experienced delays or cancellations. In September 2018, Leanos announced he had been working on an album titled Be Safe as a tribute to Mac Miller (whose last words to Leanos before his overdose earlier that month were "be safe"), but the project 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×Sorry27 October 2016 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Sorry3:46 I Didn't Quit, revealing a new album cover that took inspiration from Lil Wayne's Sorry 4 the Wait, but this project appears to have been scrapped as well.
On June 24, 2022, Leanos and fellow emo rapper Chris Miles released the collaborative EP have a nice day. It includes a feature from Lil Tracy and was supported by the single "Miss Me".
In August 2024, Leanos announced that his second album, entitled Diego×Diego20 September 2024 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Not Ready2:322Roses On Your Desk2:003Misery2:164Bad For My Health2:485DEPRESSION2:286Used To2:337Won't Overdose2:438Run Away3:359Life Lessons2:2710Cutthroat1:5511New Jack1:4812So Pretty2:2113Ride For Me2:5014NODA2:5215Block Beaming1:5716Nightmares3:01, was finished, and would receive an early release on the independent streaming platform Even Music on September 6, 2024. It was released on all platforms on September 19, marking his first full-length album release in over six years. Later that year, Leanos signed to the independent record label 3rd Eye Recordings.

Artistry

Leanos has listed Pharrell Williams and N.E.R.D. as early influences in hip-hop, with other influences including Arctic Monkeys, Cage the Elephant, and Queens of the Stone Age. Leanos has also described Drake 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 has described Leanos as part of a "sad rap" movement.

Personal life

Leanos has been open about his former addiction to benzodiazepines (particularly Xanax) 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 2018, Leanos was reportedly hospitalized after eating "too many Hot Cheetos".
Leanos started dating singer and actress Noah Cyrus 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 would initially claim that the relationship was forced by the couple's record label, Columbia, though he later took responsibility for the breakup and said he has "nothing but love for the Cyrus family."
Leanos had an on-and-off relationship with social media personality Tana Mongeau in 2018 and again in 2021. He and Chris Miles, who also dated Mongeau, made their collaborative breakup song "Miss Me" about their relationships with her.
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 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 Smith's supposed ultrasound photos looked identical to ones that could be found using a Google Images search. The couple would split shortly thereafter, with Leanos claiming the relationship had been toxic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Leanos was residing in Corona, California while quarantining with his mother. During this time, he suffered severe anxiety attacks that prompted his mother to call 9-1-1 after she saw him hallucinating.