As older rappers tire out and are relegated to the occasional release of music, new age rappers have to dominate the hip-hop scene. Their music, which is distinctively different from older iterations of hip-hop has been described as the consequence of the popularity of hip-hop genre, which has attracted different cultures and backgrounds to the genre. One of these new age rappers is, Diego Leanos, who is professionally and more popularly known as Lil Xan.
Lil Xan has gained notoriety both from his music and his public image of face tattoos which is consistent with the general public image of new age rappers. He is a Mexican rapper with a growing fan base and he is set to dominate the hip-hop scene in years to come. Learn more about Diego Leanos a.k.a Lil Xan by reading below.
Lil Xan’s Bio, Age
Lil Xan got his name from the drug, Xanax, which is just one of the unique facts about the Mexican rapper. He was born on the 6th of September 1996 in Redlands, California as Diego Leanos. As a child of poor Mexican parents, Lil Xan lived with his family in motels for the majority of his childhood and education was a challenge for the Mexican rapper. And although he got admission into Redlands East Valley High School, a high school in a neighborhood close to his home, he dropped out of high school in his first year of high school due to the pressure of poverty and the dedication required by academic work.
He stayed home for a few years, mostly unemployed until he got a job as a street cleaner and as a drug dealer, which although is illegal, gave him a connection to the legacy of older hip-hop artists.
Before he became a rapper, Lil Xan took interest in photography and with the little money he made from street cleaning and drug sales, bought a camera which he used in taking pictures of his friends who were rappers. For Lil Xan, it was his way of helping his friends rap careers, by taking pictures that give them exposure to a wider audience.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your opinion of Lil Xan’s music, his camera was stolen and rather than continue drug dealing or street cleaning in order to buy another, he chose to begin a rap career, with the expectation of using the proceeds from his rap career to buy a new camera.
Lil Xan began to record music and upload to YouTube and popular independent music platform, SoundCloud. His music, such as extended plays like CITGO and Toothache , gained little mainstream traction until he released the music video to his single, Betrayed in August 2017. The release of the song and the video prompted a major in Lil Xan as an artist and his song Betrayed debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 64.
Riding on the wave of his Betrayed single, he announced his debut album, Total Xanarchy, which was released on April 6, 2018. However, before the album’s release, he announced a promotional tour, Total Xanarchy in December 2017 which according to Billboard, was sold out in five hours.
When his debut album eventually got released in April 2018, it debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200. Currently, he has an album, a mixtape, and four extended plays (EPs) to his name. He has announced the production of a second album, Be Safe and a tribute album to Mac Miller.
Lil Xan cites hip-hop icons like Pharell Williams, Drake , N.E.R.D as his musical influences. He is currently signed on to Columbia Records. In his short career, which began in 2015, he has been nominated for two major awards – MTV Video Music Awards as Push Artist of the Year and MTV Europe Music Awards as Best Push.
Net Worth
As an upcoming rapper with just a few projects out, Lil Xan so far currently has a net worth of $200,000. His Billboard charting single and the album has been a contributory factor to the rise in net worth and with an album and growing popularity among hip-hop fans, he is expected to be worth a lot more in years to come.
Family – Parents
The American born and raised rapper is of Mexican descent. Not much is known of his parents, other than the fact his mother is named Candy and that she and her husband were poor while they raised Lil Xan. His family, especially his mother has been very supportive of his music career thus far, including his uncle who featured on a track with him once.
Personal Life – Is Lil Xan Gay? Girlfriend
Lil Xan was once in a highly publicized relationship with Noah Cyrus, the singer and actress daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus and sister of Miley Cyrus. The relationship began in June 2018 but ended in September 2018. But despite the fact of that very publicized relationship, Lil Xan came out as gay in a video that was posted in October 2018 and has been rumored to be dating rapper/actor Jaden Smith .
Height
Lil Xan stands at an average height of 5 feet and 6 inches. He is also believed to weigh a total of 66 kg. Other than a tattoo covered body feature, he has other features like blue eyes and dark brown hair.
Is Lil Xan Dead or Alive?
Although he has a history of being addicted to drugs, like Xanax, hence the name, he has been rehabilitated. He did, however, end up in the hospital in September 2018 for stomach pain which was caused by the over-consumption of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Despite the incident, he is very much alive.