The group behind vastly fashionable multiplayer on-line recreation League Of Legends have confirmed that their 2026 World Championship anthem can be carried out by True Harm, a digital band made up of in-game characters.
The primary League Of Legends Worlds anthem was launched in 2014 after pop titans Imagine Dragons labored with Riot Video games on uplifting synth smash ‘Warriors’. The track soundtracked the annual occasion, which sees skilled esports groups going head-to-head within the chaotic battle area to show they’re the very best on the planet.
Since then, artists reminiscent of brooding electro rockers PVRIS, punk-pop party-starters Against The Current and K-pop heavyweights NewJeans have all contributed to Worlds music. Rapper Lil Nas X, celebrity DJ Zedd and heavy metallers Linkin Park are additionally behind official hype tracks for the event.
Riot Video games – the studio behind League Of Legends – are doing one thing just a little totally different for 2026 although. ‘Know My Identify’ is simply as dynamic as fan-favourites ‘Heavy Is The Crown’ or ‘Legends By no means Die’ however the inspirational observe comes from True Harm, a digital hip-hop band made up of present League Of Legends champions – Akali, Qiyana, Senna, Ekko and Yasuo.
“In the identical method you would possibly spend lots of of hours listening to your favorite artist, gamers spend an infinite period of time with our characters,” Riot Video games’ Ellie Lehman, who’s behind the ‘Know My Identify’ video, tells NME in regards to the determination to go together with an animated artist for this 12 months’s anthem. Riot’s objective is for the digital band to deepen that connection between participant and gun-toting champion. “The core belongings you love about them are there, however you get to find new sides of who they’re on this universe.”
Take lethal murderer Akali. On the earth of League Of Legends, she’s an agile, blade-wielding killing machine however in True Harm, she’s a decided younger rapper who’s decided to be the very best. “And naturally,” added Lehman, “The music needs to be good.”
True Harm made their first animated look in 2019 with ‘Giants’, a gargantuan observe that’s racked up greater than 175million Spotify streams and options the vocal abilities of Becky G, Keke Palmer, Duckwrth and I-DLE’s Soyeon because the League Of Legends champions. This Friday (October 9) True Harm return with a brand new solid of well-known voices bringing them to life. We are able to’t let you know the total line-up however Vic Mensa is behind Ekko and Grammy-winning R&B singer Coco Jones is taking on from Palmer as cursed warrior Senna.
“I used to be simply actually drawn to the concept of entering into this world the place music and gaming can all come collectively,” Jones mentioned of her determination to get entangled within the venture.
Senna has been a part of the expansive League Of Legends universe since 2019 so an enormous a part of Jones’ activity was figuring out what she might carry to the undead Wraith. “You’re utilizing your voice to speak a personality’s character and story whereas nonetheless bringing one thing genuine from your self to it,” she defined. “Vocally, I might actually join with Senna’s confidence and intentionality. She’s somebody who has taken the time to develop her personal sound and is aware of when she has one thing she needs to say. There’s one thing actually highly effective about that as an artist, and I wished that sense of objective to come back via in my efficiency. It simply felt like a extremely thrilling inventive alternative.”
True Harm’s first (and till now, solely) single ‘Giants’ took inspiration from Ok-pop and conventional Spanish music however ‘Know My Identify’ pays homage to New York Metropolis, which can be internet hosting the League Of Legends World Championship in November.
“Drill was a extremely massive inspiration for us this time round,” mentioned Alex Shahmiri, who works at Riot and helped form the music course for ‘Know My Identify’. “We wanted to discover a area inside hip-hop that also felt genuine to True Harm, but in addition introduced the vitality wanted for a Worlds anthem. So that you’ve obtained some darker tones all through the observe, however they’re introduced into the triumphant esports sound with a stay drumline and brass.
“Lyrically, hip-hop has all the time touched on themes of grit, resilience, overcoming obstacles – all of the substances to an ideal sports activities story,” added Lehman, which made the style an apparent alternative for a Worlds anthem.
And ‘Know My Identify’ isn’t only for getting League Of Legends gamers excited earlier than essential head-to-head matches at Worlds, the group at Riot need the track to get you amped up as properly. “I actually hope folks can return to ‘Know My Identify’ after they want that burst of inspiration or an additional increase to assist push them in direction of their targets, no matter they could be,” mentioned Lehman. “I need folks to really feel empowered to maintain pushing towards no matter their objective is, but in addition to recognise that you just don’t must observe anybody else’s path to get there,” added Jones.
Worlds isn’t the one time Riot has introduced your favorite artists into the world of gaming. Earlier this 12 months, Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes and Spiritbox’s Courtney LaPlante turned the latest musicians to soundtrack a tournament of tactical hero-shooter Valorant, following within the footsteps of XG, Ashnikko and KATSEYE whereas League Of Legends animated Netflix spin-off Arcane featured a formidable soundtrack of unique songs from Twenty One Pilots, Stray Kids, Denzel Curry, King Princess, Stromae and extra.
“Rising up, loads of my curiosity in music got here from what I used to be listening to in video games. I keep in mind shopping for my first CD due to Gran Turismo. So for me, I believe video video games are simply as essential as movie and TV in the case of spotlighting artists,” mentioned Shahmiri.
“Artists collaborating with video games for these actually bespoke moments affords one other platform to seek out their followers and meet them the place they’re at in these areas,” added Lehman. “It additionally permits followers of the artist to find new video games. It additionally permits gamers to find new artists or artists they could not in any other case have heard about.”
True Harm are one in all 4 digital bands made up of League Of Legends champions and the objective is to maintain pushing the boundaries of how music and video video games can crossover, mentioned Shahmiri. “We’ve seen and appreciated how gamers love Riot’s music, to the purpose that it’s a joke that Riot’s actually a music firm fronting as a video games firm. We all know that with each music launch there are excessive expectations and whereas we would not all the time get it proper, it’s one thing we put loads of care into,” he continued.
“There’s loads of pleasure round how we will higher serve gamers with music, so I’m excited to see what we will cook dinner up within the subsequent few years. I believe the probabilities are infinite as a result of we nonetheless have barely scratched the floor on what this alternate universe could be.”
‘Know My Identify’ is out October 8 and you’ll pre-save it here