''Total Xanarchy'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Nicholas Diego Leanos, known professionally as Lil Xan. It was released on April 6, 2018, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The album features

guest appearance The term guest appearance generally denotes the appearance of a guest in an artistic or pop-culture setting. The guests themselves (referred to as guest artists, featured artists, guest stars, or guest fighters, depending on context), are disting ...

s from

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

, YG,

Rae Sremmurd Rae Sremmurd ( ; "Ear Drummers" Anadrome, spelled backwards) is an American hip-hop duo composed of brothers Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi, both of whom originate from Tupelo, Mississippi. They signed with record producer Mike Will Made It's label Mike ...

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Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, singer, and record executive. Rooted in Memphis rap, he released five independent albums—''Youngsta's on a Come Up'' (1996), ''From da Dope ...

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, and $teven Cannon. It was supported by five singles: "Slingshot", " Betrayed", "Far", "Wake Up" and "Color Blind". ''Total Xanarchy'' was panned by both music critics and listeners, with most criticizing the lyrical content and Leanos' overall performance.

Background

The album was originally titled ''No Love'' after Xan's single of the same name, but was changed after his management decided not to include the song on the album. It was originally scheduled for a March 17, 2018 release; however, the album was delayed. On March 2, 2018, during an interview with

Ebro Darden Ibrahim Jamil "Ebro" Darden (born March 17, 1975) is an American radio personality, broadcaster, and DJ. Until 2014, he was Vice President of Programming for Emmis Communications' New York contemporary urban station WQHT (Hot 97). He is currentl ...

during the '' Ebro in the Morning'' show, Xan explained the direction of the album's sound and style, by stating, On March 15, 2018, the album's artwork and release date were revealed through the rapper's Instagram story.

Singles

The album's

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

, "Slingshot", was released on April 2, 2017. The JP-directed music video was originally released on June 21, 2017, however it was re-uploaded on November 22, 2017. The album's second single, " Betrayed", was released for streaming and digital download on July 20, 2017. The Cole Bennett-directed music video was released on August 28, 2017. The music video has reached over 285 million views on YouTube. The album's third single, "Far", was released on November 3, 2017. Its music video was released on October 31, 2017. The album's fourth single, "Wake Up", was released on December 27, 2017. The Cole Bennett-directed music video was released on December 30, 2017. The album's fifth single, a collaboration with producer

, titled "Color Blind" was released on March 22, 2018. A music video for the song was released on April 10, 2018.

Promotional singles

The album's lead

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

, "Betrayed (Remix)" with

and

was released on March 15, 2018. The album's second promotional single, "The Man" featuring Steven Cannon was released on March 30, 2018, along with the Steve King-directed music video.

Promotion

Tour

On December 18, 2017, Lil Xan announced an official headlining concert tour to further promote the album titled ''Total Xanarchy Tour''. The tour began on January 25, 2018, in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, at Venue Nightclub.

Critical reception

''Total Xanarchy'' was panned by

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s, with most criticizing the lyrical content and Leanos' overall performance. Ben Beaumont-Thomas from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave credit to the tracks containing strong hooks and "fine, gothic production", but criticized Xan for mimicking the technical abilities of

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("Diamonds") and

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("Far") and lacking in lyricism, saying "I can confidently report that there are no good lyrics on this album." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' writer Meaghan Garvey said about Lil Xan overall, "On his debut album, the standard-bearer of the sad-rap movement refuses to reveal much in the way of emotion at all, aside from a kind of sullen, conflicted defiance."

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal. Notes * signifies a co-producer * signifies an uncredited co-producer * "Color Blind" features background vocals from Thomas Azie * The CD version of the album does not include the songs "Shine Hard" and "Betrayed (Remix)".

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. Technical * DJ Fu – recording , mixing * Steve Hybicki – mixing * Mauricio "Veto" Iragorri – mastering * Steven "B" Baughman – mastering * Kinfolk John – mixing , recording * Nolan Presley – recording * Finis "KY" White – mixing * Ben the Great – mixing * Boaz De Jong – mixing * Mike Bell – mastering

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2018 debut albums Lil Xan albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Diplo Albums produced by Ronny J Albums produced by Symbolyc One West Coast hip-hop albums