Nicholas Diego Leanos (born September 6, 1996), commonly known as Lil Xan or just Diego, is a Redlands, California-based rapper, singer, and songwriter. His most famous song is “Betrayed,” which was certified platinum by the RIAA and reached number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. Complete Xanarchy, Leanos’ debut studio album, was released on April 6, 2018.
His stage name is a play on the word Xanax, which is the brand name for the prescription medication alprazolam. Leanos rose to prominence through networks such as SoundCloud and YouTube. His popularity skyrocketed after the release of his music video for “Betrayed” in August 2017. In the Billboard Top 100, the song peaked at number 64. Leanos announced his debut album Complete Xanarchy in an interview with XXL. Collaborations with musicians like Diplo and Swae Lee appear on the album. According to Billboard, Leanos’ Complete Xanarchy tour sold out in five hours in December 2017. In 2018, Leanos pondered changing his stage name to Diego to support his anti-drug stance, but he has since expressed reservations about going through with the transition.
Complete Xanarchy, Leanos’ debut studio album, was released on April 6, 2018. The album received mostly negative critical reviews, but it was a moderate 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 release of his mixtape, Heartbreak Soldiers, on July 8, 2018. Leanos said in September 2018 that he has been working on an album titled Be Safe as a tribute to Mac Miller, as they were the final words he said to Leanos before his death.