Lil Nas X in Arcane? The music megastar was considered, Riot exec says

Lil Nas X could have been a part of the array of artists who took part in Arcane, the League of Legends animated series, according to Riot Games. Nas worked alongside the publisher on the Worlds 2022 anthem but was also previously considered for the first season of Arcane.

In an interview with Dot Esports, artist and creative partnerships manager at Riot Games Music Bob DeBelina shared his experience working on both projects.

“Lil Nas X was absolutely considered for Arcane,” DeBelina said without diving too much into why the artist was ultimately not involved. He commented on the “time and creative” constraints of the team that had to spend most of their time “reverse engineering songs into picture.”

For the Arcane soundtrack, DeBelina worked as an artist and repertoire, meaning he was responsible for finding promising artists who would fit into the project’s vision and overseeing their artistic development. With various artists such as Imagine Dragons, Sting, and Bea Miller being featured in Arcane, Riot put all its learnings from creating the Worlds anthem and virtual groups, such as K/DA and Pentakill, when it approached the creation of the series’ soundtrack and vice versa. 

DeBelina has been involved in almost every music partnership involving artists for Riot since 2017, with his latest project being the Worlds 2022 anthem, “STAR WALKIN’.” He said he felt “extremely fortunate” to have been able to work with many talented people inside and outside of Riot.

So while Nas did not make it into Arcane, “STAR WALKIN'” came to life as a result of the experience.