Haile Malik Salaam (born August 16, 2000), known professionally as Xanman, is an American rapper from

Landover, Maryland Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 25,998. Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the ...

. He gained significant attention in 2019 with his single "Gucci Down". Xanman has worked with a number of other Maryland rappers including his cousin YungManny and frequent collaborator Goonew. Goonew died in March 2022 from gunshot wounds.

Early life

Xanman was born Haile Salaam on August 16, 2000, in

, a suburb of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Raised in Landover, he was exposed to music at an early age. He claims Brightseat Road in Landover as his home. Salaam began to take an interest in the drums at age 5, and was influenced by his uncle, who was a drummer for Go-go legend

Chuck Brown Charles Louis Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist, bandleader, and singer known as " The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed around the Washington, D.C., area in the mid-1970s. While ...

. He began recording music while in elementary school, and became proficient with the music software program

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

when he was 11 years old.

Music career

Xanman released his first mixtape "''Finesse Lord''" in 2013. He went on to release a number of mixtapes in the following years, including ''No Plug'' and ''Broken''. As of 2020, Xanman has released 34 mixtapes and a long list of singles. Xanman has collaborated with a number of different artists including

Lil Yachty Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...

and fellow DC-Area rapper Lil Dude. Their single ''Many Men'' was ranked 7th on the Washington Post's list of the best DMV rap songs and albums of 2018. Citing his influences, Salaam named

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

as one of the most important people in sparking his interest in making rap music. Describing Xanman's energetic stage presence,

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

music critic Chris Richards wrote, "it signals a lust for life, a yearning, an exaggerated stride into the future."

Legal issues

Salaam was arrested on November 8, 2018, and charged with assault. He was sentenced to six months in jail. While incarcerated, a #FreeXan movement gained momentum on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. Upon his release, Xanman released a song entitled ''First Day Out'' featuring his cousin and collaborator YungManny.

References

{{authority control 2000 births Living people 21st-century American rappers American trap musicians American drill musicians Rappers from Maryland