While on his Long Live Montero Tour for his Grammy-nominated debut album Montero, Lil Nas X previewed a new song for audiences called “Star Walkin’.” Little was known about the song or when it’d get an official release, but today, Nas announced its release date — along with a new partnership whose launch is timed to the release.
Nas is pretty well-known for his brand partnerships; in the three years since he became practically a household name, he’s teamed up with Wrangler, Grindr, Taco Bell, and M&Ms. Each time, he’s shown off his flair for the dramatic — for instance, Taco Bell made him Chief Impact Officer, a made-up but significant role expansion from when he first worked for the fast food chain.
His latest pairing will be with Riot Games, the creators of the popular video game League Of Legends. This time, he’ll take on another impressive-sounding role: President of League of Legends, which will involve “creating explosive musical moments, an ingenious League champion skin, and a spectacular live Worlds performance,” according to the press release. He’ll kick off the League Of Legends World Championship with a performance of “Star Walkin’” on September 29 in Mexico City, then debut a new skin he helped design for a new character in the game, K’Sante the Pride of Nazumah (say that five times fast).
This isn’t the first time Riot has collaborated with rappers. Like competitors/colleagues Epic Games (creators of Fortnite), they’ve incorporated hip-hop organically into their game’s world through creations like in-game band True Damage, made up of real performers, and recruiting JID to work with Imagine Dragons on the theme song for the League Netflix spin-off show Arcane. They even previously worked with Lil Nas X to create a hype video for one of the competing teams in last year’s Worlds.
