Lil Xan emerged during a time in hip-hop where disrespecting and undervaluing the old guard was the norm. Moreover, he called Tupac Shakur “boring” during a 2018 interview, which made old heads and younger fans alike immediately discredit him. Other examples of this included Lil Yachty calling Biggie Smalls “overrated,” but Xan’s comments rang especially blasphemous to many. However, the California MC’s grown a lot since then, and believes he finds himself in a much better space these days. While speaking to AllHipHop for an interview, he explained the circumstances behind it, but interestingly enough, maintained that he wouldn’t change it if he had the chance today.
“That interview should’ve never even been aired ‘cause I wasn’t in a good place during the interview,” Lil Xan stated. “I was angry at that time. And all that came down to was a result of me just trying to get the interview done quicker. I was like, ‘Next question. Next question.’ And then they just give me questions and I’m messing around.
Lil Xan’s Interview With AllHipHop Explains Tupac Comments
“I think Tupac is a legend,” Lil Xan continued. “I don’t have to explain myself to anybody, but I grew up on a lot of old school West Coast, a lot of old school East Coast. But after that, that was just a little mishap. It was the result of me not being as mature as I am today. Inexperienced with interviews a lot, too. If you would ask me if I could go back and rewrite that, I wouldn’t though. Because it started an interesting conversation in hip-hop. I did get a lot of backlash, of course, but as the years have gone by since that moment, it started what I think is a very good conversation in hip-hop.
“Why do these new cats in hip-hop that weren’t even born when someone like Tupac was around, why do they have to idolize them like the older people?” the 26-year-old posited. “They can appreciate the craft and the music. It’s good. It’s amazing. It’s better than good. But if you think about it like that, that’s some hating stuff right there.” For more news and the latest updates on Lil Xan, stay posted on HNHH.
Hip-Hop Artist Lil Xan gears up for releasing his new single entitled “NODA,” which acts as his comeback track from a musical hiatus. Lil Xan reintroduces himself on a mildly acoustic and optimistic beat, showcasing how his emo and quietly mournful sound has evolved. The single serves as an introspective summer anthem and comes after his dedicated, personal journey into sobriety.
“NODA,” an acronym for ‘Not On Drugs Anymore,’ is Lil Xan’s self-aware announcement to fans of his sobriety. “ The fans are everything so I appreciate them letting me take that time off and being respectful. Now I’m ready to show out and give them what they want. ” says Lil Xan. Recently signed to CAA, the rapper is ready to establish a new connection with his fans. In “NODA” Lil Xan announces he is “climbing to the top” and wants everyone to know that for him “ getting to the top is getting enlightened, getting older, and more mature. It is about becoming a better person, a better human being.”
When asked about how this song will reflect his life now, Lil Xan admits, “A seed planted in possibly one of the saddest times in recent history for many people, me included. Now three years have passed since 2020 and that seed has grown into something beautiful, “NODA”. The next chapter of my life, the next chapter of my music, and most importantly, the next chapter of Xanarchy.”
“NODA” was produced by Kinfolk Jon X Purps and will be serviced to all pop, rhythmic, and urban stations. “NODA” will be available for streaming on all platforms June 30th. The comeback track will also be performed live for the first time at Lil Xan’s July 9th performance at 1720 in Los Angeles, CA.
Lil Xan blew up in the underground and emo rap scene in 2017 following the release of his song “Betrayed.” The track peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and Xan, real name is Diego Leanos, later signed a record deal with Columbia Records. After announcing his deal, the rapper also dropped his debut album, Total Xanarchy, in April 2018. Despite mixed reviews, the album sold 28,000 copies in its first week and debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 list.
Following the success of “Betrayed,” Lil Xan embarked on a tour that reportedly sold out in five minutes. He also began dating Noah Cyrus, the younger sister of Miley Cyrus, in June 2018. The California rapper appeared to be on the brink of stardom in the summer of that year. However, drug abuse, mental illness, and scrapped musical projects quickly derailed Xan’s rise by 2019. Since then, personal struggles have marred Lil Xan’s public image. It caused many fans to question what exactly happened to the once-promising rapper. Let’s look at the reasons behind Lil Xan’s fall from fame and find out where he is today.
Scrapped Projects and Lack of Music
WANTAGH, NY – AUGUST 18: Lil Xan performs onstage during Day 1 of Billboard Hot 100 Festival 2018 at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on August 18, 2018 in Wantagh, New York. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Billboard)
Since the release of Total Xanarchy, Lil Xan has only dropped one other official project, a collaborative EP titled have a nice day with Chris Miles in 2022. The release of this project ended a four-year drought in which Xan announced many different albums, all of which failed to release. Xan gave contradictory statements regarding a second album and has yet to release another full-length project.
The beginning of his string of scrapped projects began in September 2018 when Xan announced he was releasing a tribute album to Mac Miller titled Be Safe. According to Xan, these were the last words Miller spoke before passing. Lil Xan planned to release the album in 2019, yet it ended up in production limbo. The rapper ultimately scrapped the project. Despite this, Xan announced another release in November 2019.
Moving Forward
Lil Xan planned to name this project When September Ends and posted a cover for the album to Instagram in December 2019. It was slated for release the following month; however, as with Be Safe, Xan didn’t drop the album. The album announcements did not stop, though. He stated his project was finished in January and revealed its name: Sorry I Didn’t Quit. Xan also posted an album cover to Instagram, which drew inspiration from Lil Wayne’s Sorry 4 the Wait. This was also apparently scrapped.
This string of unreleased projects turned many fans away from Lil Xan and also caused them to question his dedication to music. Xan also announced that he was retiring from music in late 2019 but later changed his mind. However, Xan’s contradictions about musical projects and his career haven’t been his only controversies.
Struggles with Addiction and Stints in Rehab
Xan’s struggles with addiction began when he was 18 years old after doctors prescribed him Xanax for anxiety. His reliance on Xanax and other drugs inspired his moniker, yet he has considered changing his rap name to “Diego” due to his addictions. Lil Xan has had multiple stints in rehab, and his drug abuse could contribute to his lack of musical productivity.
The rapper’s first stint in rehab occurred in December 2018, yet after two weeks, he left the facility, claiming to be sober. His first attempt to get clean was in response to the death of Mac Miller, which greatly affected him. However, in late 2019, Xan suffered multiple seizures after attempting to quit drugs “cold turkey.” This led to rumors that the rapper died, yet these were untrue.
In December 2021, Xan called out his former manager, Status Quo, for supplying him with drugs that almost killed him. This outing led to a wide array of online bullying directed at Xan. In March 2022, he was hospitalized in a psychiatric ward for three days after checking himself in on a 5150 hold. The rapper cited exhaustion, dehydration, and depression from bullying as reasons behind his mental health crisis. This event led to another stint in rehab.
Tour Controversy with “Dropout Kings”
WANTAGH, NY – AUGUST 18: Lil Xan poses backstage during Day 1 of Billboard Hot 100 Festival 2018 at Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater on August 18, 2018 in Wantagh City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Billboard)
In May of 2022, Lil Xan announced he was 40 days clean after spending 30 days at Scott Storch’s “weed-friendly” rehab facility. Xan stated he was “finally sober for once in my f*cking life” and was preparing for a tour with Dropout Kings. However, Lil Xan quit his tour in June of that same year after a dispute with the group. The Dropout Kings claimed that Xan left them cross-country and didn’t show up for his set. They also called the rapper a “total piece of sh*t.”
Xan responded that his next tour would be for the fans. He said he wanted to focus on sobriety and felt that being on tour would negatively impact this. Despite this, Xan’s quitting the tour proved a recurring theme of the rapper’s inability to fulfill commitments to his fans and peers.
As of 2023, Lil Xan is still active on social media and is making music. Much of Lil Xan’s social media consists of posts promoting anti-drug use and documenting his sobriety. Despite rumors that he died, retired, or quit, Xan is still making music and is currently on tour, as he recently shared photos of a show he did in Spain. Many fans and contemporaries have shared their support for Xan in his battle against addiction, and they are thankful that he appears to be healthy. Although Xan has struggled with many issues since “Betrayed,” it is good to see that he is still going and pursuing his musical career.
While it looked like popular recording artist Lil Xan‘s career was on the rise with the announcement of a new headlining tour early last month. It appears the “Betrayal” rapper has called off the tour at the last minute, leaving the openers enraged for the late notification and airing out this displacement on social media.
Lil Xan is going out so sad he ditched his own tour and the band he was bringing on tour is saying fuck him now . pic.twitter.com/evotEidO4l
Dropout Kings’ Adam Ramey, the opening act on Lil Xan’s upcoming tour, wrote on Instagram the following statement about Lil Xan’s immediate departure from his headlining tour with Born Dead clothing:
“Due to @xanxiety dropping off the Born Dead Tour, tonight’s show in Tampa, FL at Brass Mug is canceled. We were told tomorrow’s show in Jacksonville is canceled, as well. We are trying to save any show we can and perform for you all! Straight up fuck Lil Xan 100% I don’t even care. Dude is a total piece of shit for doing this to all the artists and staff involved in this. Decided to do this to everyone after everyone already left for tour, then doesn’t even show up to his set for so what fest. We’re still reaching out to every promoter on the remaining shows. Fuck it we’ll make it a headliner. The show must go on. Please bear with us during this. We’ll make it worth it.”
Following Dropout Kings hurling a series of disses Lil Xan’s way on social media, Xan released an Instagram post on Tuesday afternoon that shed some light on his last-minute departure from the tour that included him insulting his former opening act. “I dropped off the tour because your management and booking agents were taking advantage of me. Your team dropped the ball. Your team did not have any accommodations or travel or anything a tour should. U just wanted to promote ur homies under my name and we tried to work it out but your team is obviously new at this. If you guys were smart you wouldn’t do burn bridges like that and act like you guys had the tour even planned right but have fun on your fuck lil xan tour.”
“S/o @dropoutkingsaz have a great “fuck lil xan tour,” Xan captioned. “I know you guys are new to this and I’m pretty sure you should talk with your booking agent Ashley on how bad she fucked the tour up for me and my team! But have fun on the tour fellaz my next tour is for my fans only not yours wanna give them better openers and more Xanarchy @dropoutkingsaz. On top of that, I just got out of rehab 2/3 months ago and wanna stay focused on my sobriety and a tour might damage that! but no yall team didn’t care as long as they made their money.”
The time has officially arrived. The announcement of my final EP as “LiL Xan”… join the discord link in my bio for all the information on how it will be released, how you can get it and also how you can get my 1st project as “Diego” See you there! pic.twitter.com/CdbgbJBw14
He continued with a follow-up Instagram post: “Dam man I can never get a break it’s always an L for xan when I say this had nothing to do with bad ticket sales, I was even surprised how good they were selling for only having one album out ever but everyone doesn’t know how fucked of a deal it was for me? They were tryna use my name to increase their agency’s artist career, I’ve been taken advantage of before and learned from my mistakes like if this was my tour or had more control of it wouldn’t you think I’d have my brother @stevencamnon on it like every other tour I’ve done? Cmon man.”
In the midst of the tour cancellation, Lil Xan has announced new music on the way with the reveal of his “final” EP under the rap moniker coming soon. Breaking the news to fans on Tuesday, Xan shared that they can discover more information about the upcoming music on his Discord group. “The time has officially arrived,” tweets Xan. “The announcement of my final EP as “LiL Xan”… join the discord link in my bio for all the information on how it will be released, how you can get it and also how you can get my 1st project as “Diego” See you there!”
Lil Xan is vibrating higher in all spheres of life now that he has a fresh team and a free head. The platinum recording artist’s upcoming Born Dead Tour, which will take out on May 28th in Dallas, will hit the road this Spring. The 17-show run will be headlined by metal band Dropout Kings, as well as VVIZARD KING, Rosh Dawg, and Saving Vice, and will be presented by tattoo-inspired streetwear brand Born Dead Clothing.
The tour announcement is accompanied by an update on Xan’s health, who is wrapping up his treatment program and developing a new project after a three-week detox. In a statement to the press, Xan reveals: “Missed my fans all across America, so much! Been doing everything necessary to be in the best mental and physical shape for this new tour. Can’t wait to see yall out there!!”
The Born Dead Tour
Tickets can be purchased here and his latest single “Rebound” is available below.
Lil Xan’s reign of terror over rap is a few years in the rearview, but while the controversial rapper hasn’t been quite as visible for a while, he still has at least one bone to pick with the music business — or more specifically, with his former manager, former Shady Records rapper Stat Quo. In a recent Instagram Live session, the now 25-year-old — who was able to get clean last year after quitting pills cold-turkey during quarantine — called out his ex-manager for enabling his addiction, comparing the situation to that of his late SoundCloud Rap peer, Lil Peep.
“Do you guys remember the whole Lil Peep, the story when his management was giving him drugs and it just wasn’t helping out and all that?” he asks. That happened to me on tour. My manager — well, I don’t even like to call him my manager anymore — Stat Quo, remember that name, Stat Quo… He’s gonna act like he didn’t do that, like a f*ckin’ hypocrite, and I’m really feeling like I should take him to court. Because that was a time I almost died from the drugs. I was so skinny, unhealthy.” Xan claims Stat knew his dealers and spend thousands of dollars to have drugs sent if Xan was experiencing withdrawal on tour.
Xan also says that Stat “took away” his car and is demanding $30,000 to finish paying it off. Xan — who recently made the effort to change his stage name to his given name, Diego, was open about his addiction to prescription drugs throughout his career and his breakout hit, “Betrayed,” is an ode to the dangers of pills.
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wanna give them better openers and more Xanarchy 
