Nicholas Diego Leanos (born September 6, 1996), better known as Lil Xan (/zæn/ ZANN) 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.
Growing up, Leanos was poor and lived in motels most of his childhood. He attended Redlands East Valley High School, 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.
His 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" 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. 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.

Return to Lil Xan Autograph Profile