Lil Xan is heading to rehab and changing his name
19 November 2018, 14:15 | Updated: 19 November 2018, 14:59
He'll use Diego as his stage name.
Lil Xan will head to rehab to kick his opioid addiction. According to E! News, the Betrayed rapper made the announcement on Instagram in a since-deleted post.
It read: "I just dropped out of SoundCloud Uni to go to rehab. I leave in five days, and I couldn’t be happier with this choice. I love you guys for being so supportive and can’t wait to get back clean headed ready to finish my album!"
Lil Xan revealed the deaths of Lil Peep, XXXtentacion and Mac Miller gave him the much-needed push to get clean. It was the death of Mac Miller which hit him in particular and he plans on releasing a tribute album in honour of him. The rapper passed away in September from an accidental drug overdose of cocaine, fentanyl and alcohol aged 26. "It hit so close to home. I know we both struggle with the same problems and I just feel like it’s time to get better," he said in an interview with TMZ.
Although Xan admitted his addiction had been "10 times worse" he believes now is the time to make a change. Lil Xan – born Diego Leanos – will also return to his birth name upon his release from rehab. Lil Xan was addicted to Xanax, which is used to treat anxiety disorder, hence his stage name. However, he now speaks out against Xanax abuse and urges people to stop using the drug altogether.
He continued: "I want to do rehab just so I can get over this last little hump, like stretch, so I could finally be back to Diego. My goal is to come out of rehab with the name just Diego. All caps, just Diego. The minute I get out of rehab and I’m clean, it’s just straight Diego. No more celebrating or talking good about drugs."
