The new generation rappers are often known for their dislike of doing interviews, and California musician Lil Xan (real name Nicholas Leanos) is no exception. Whether it’s Lil Uzi Vert telling Ebro Darden that he’s not rapping on beats without 808s or Lil Yachty feuding with HOT97, older radio personalities have frequently locked horns with adolescent artists and this was most definitely the case when Xan decided to label Tupac as “boring.”
As hip-hop progresses and grows older, some rappers willingly forget and ignore past eras. Contemporary acts frequently cite Lil Wayne as their most considerable influence. However, MCs from the 1990s often don’t get a look-in. Some of the greatest rap music of all time was made during the decade, but it is increasingly evident that the ’90s is an era in that new-school rappers do not get musical inspiration.
During an interview with Revolt TV’s web series On Clout 9 in 2018, the ‘Betrayed’ rapper was asked to rate Tupac Shakur concerning clout on a scale of one to nine. When requested to give a rating for Kush (a strain of cannabis) and face tattoos, the then-21-year-old artist gave them a nine and eight, respectively. However, when asked to provide a figure for Tupac, the rapper begrudgingly replied, “two.”
Elaborating, the rapper bluntly stated, “it’s boring music.” Following the interview, the clip went viral, and Xan came under heavy fire, getting called out by a slew of rappers. Beginning to trend on Twitter, the first act to rain hell on Xan was Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka Flame who insisted Leanos should be “banned from hip hop.” Another figure that took to the internet was actor and comedian Michael Rapaport who tweeted, “2pac took sh*ts that were more interesting than Lil Xan. Your name is Lil Xan, your name is a sleeping pill. Dumb no talent no skill, non rapping rapper.”
Following the backlash that included a video from the legendary Snoop Dogg, Leanos insisted that, despite the hate, he “wasn’t going anywhere”. However, the adolescent revealed that he would cease any further interviews. Taking to social media the Redlands rapper tweeted, “No more interviews. I love my fans to death but I can’t let these companies keep taking advantage of me and using me to further their sh*t, it’s f*cked.” You can see the media firestorm Leanos created in the video below.
