Nicholas Diego Leanos (born September 6, 1996) was born in Redlands, California, United States. He is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. He is professionally known as Lil Xan or Diego. He gained initial recognition through platforms like SoundCloud and YouTube, steadily building a fan base. Lil Xan's breakthrough came with the release of the music video for "Betrayed" in August 2017, a track that reached number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100.
His stage moniker, Lil Xan, is derived from the prescription drug alprazolam, commonly known as Xanax. Despite his early success, Lil Xan faced criticism for his debut studio album, Total Xanarchy, released on April 6, 2018. Although it received mostly negative reviews from critics, the album debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200, selling 28,000 copies in its first week.
Throughout his career, Lil Xan has been known for his dynamic and sometimes contradictory statements regarding his upcoming projects. He announced a mixtape titled Heartbreak Soldiers in May 2018 and revealed plans for an album, Be Safe, as a tribute to the late Mac Miller. However, these projects faced delays and were eventually scrapped.
The rapper's journey continued with announcements of a second album titled When September Ends in November 2019 and Sorry I Didn't Quit in January 2020. Both projects, marked by changing album covers and titles, encountered setbacks and were seemingly abandoned.
After a hiatus of over three years, Lil Xan marked his return to the music scene on June 24, 2022, with the EP titled "have a nice day," a collaborative effort with emo rapper Chris Miles. This project featured a Lil Tracy collaboration and was supported by the single "Miss Me," signaling Lil Xan's re-entry into the music landscape after a period of uncertainty and speculation surrounding his future releases.
