Live Review: Lil Xan

Triple One are a melodic hip hop group hailing from the suburbs of inner-west Sydney. Their ominous trap/boy-band sound is one that's bound to find commercial success both locally and overseas. Unfortunately, due to some delayed flights, these fellas were unable to make it here tonight.

Once upon a time, Dr Phil and the many distraught mothers of the world would come together to rescue the youth from dressing like Marilyn Manson and telling their teachers to "get bent". It was a simpler time, now they just get face tattoos and develop a crippling opiate addiction. Lil Xan, real name Diego Leanos, appears before the decently sized crowd of Melbourne's Festival Hall to spit some bars about how dope it is to also swallow some bars.

Despite his lyrics making Asher Roth look like Aristotle, the 21-year-old certainly knows how to lace some catchy little ups and downs into his mumbling flow. The kids know every word, mouthing along to Leanos with Snapchat in one hand and freestyle sign language in the other. Security guards babysit the audience, handing out lollies and putting an end to screaming moppets chucking their shoes on stage to be signed.

With a crew of MCs and DJs behind him, Leanos runs through the boomingly loud set with an undeniable amount of enthusiasm and zeal for his bizarre life. "Lemme hear you say, 'Lil Xan is the man!' C'mon! Chant it with me, Melbourne!" It's all pretty entertaining in a goofy, Insane Clown Posse-meets-Bam Margera kind of way.

Paying tribute to his late friend and fellow emo rap giant, XXXTentacion, Leanos instructs the willing crowd to raise their arms in an X to "show him that we love him forever, yo". Given X's track record of alleged abuse, this reviewer gave that tribute a pass. After performing the choruses of X's biggest hits, Leanos also made sure to pay tribute to the other emo rapper that passed away in the last 12 months, Lil Peep. It's a cold reminder that the "I don't give a fuck! Yuh!" attitude of these songs now drag some grave warnings along with them.

Recently though, Leanos claims to have tackled the once crippling pill addiction that inspired his prescription medication moniker. "I started that fucking trend," he claims, speaking about his newfound "sobriety" and the growing trend of rappers who are distancing themselves from pill culture. With the disturbing amount of influence these cartoon hedonists have over impressionable teenagers, let's hope that he and the rest of the SoundCloud traphouse can kick their habits for good.