What Happened to Lil Xan?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.