Riot Games Introduces League Of Legends Hip-Hop Group Called True Damage

After Riot Games introduced virtual reality K-Pop band K/DA into the League of Legends universe and fundamentally changed the world (seriously, "Pop Stars" is so good, my dudes), it was only a matter of time before they jumped back into the OC musical group game. Last week, they announced the next project: a hip-hop group called True Damage.

True Damage will be comprised of in-game heroes Qiyana, Akali, Ekko, Yasuo, and the recently added Senna. Akali is also a member of K/DA, but has "set out to find new collaborators," according to the in-universe lore. IRL, the actual people making up True Damage are Becky G, Keke Palmer, Soyeon, Duckwrth, and Thutmose. On November 10th, the group will make its debut at the Worlds 2019 opening ceremonies, as K/DA did in 2018. That day, players will be able to purchase the heroes' new looks as skins. The designs are going to be designed by Louis Vuitton.

According to Riot art director Seth Haak, the introduction of the group and its new skins is part of Riot's ongoing shift in focus for how it rolls out new LoL skins. Whereas for much of the last decade, Riot would create new designs and build story based around the changes, their new approach is story-first. “Just putting clothes on champions in-game doesn’t always work very well,” Haak says. “A lot of it should feel lived-in. So if anyone is carrying a sword or a weapon, or a personal object, it has to feel like they own it. It’s precious to them. Just like you would see a producer in a music studio with stickers all over their stuff, because it’s theirs.”

If True Damage is anywhere near as cool as K/DA, League fans should be in for a treat this Sunday.