At Aurora's Bright Future Media, Lance Lang, artistically known as Lane-O, and a team of creatives gathered to rehearse for their upcoming halftime show performance.
Dressed in a blue and yellow polo shirt, slim fit jeans and Air Force 1's (with no creases), Lane-O sat to the side, reciting the words to his song. Others in the studio swayed their bodies, ad-libbed affirmations, bounced their heads and joyously sang to the horn-and-snare layered instrumental that played in the background.
"I gave my all for something, so I want it all or nothing," the group sang.
Lane-O, alongside Dream Create Inspire Tour collaborators Wayne Watts, Ray Tillman, Casino Perosi, Wic Jones, D-Trait, Cleopatra Daniels and Brionne Aigné, is performing halftime's Game 1 of the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns Western Conference second round series at Ball Arena this Saturday. This will be Lane-O's biggest stage yet.
"I feel grateful, man. A lot of gratitude that's in my heart for real," Lane-O said. "What's really gotten me here is the consistency. To be persistent with my commitment and sticking to the plan. There's been many days I wanted to quit but to get to a space like [Ball Arena]...I just feel extremely grateful and proud of myself."
Originally from Louisiana, Lane-O moved to Aurora when he was a kid. The music he listened to growing up became a place of comfort and peace.
"When that song kicks on in Ball Arena, I want people to feel empowered by the words. To make an impact. I want to touch people," Lane-O said.
The six-minute set will feature his song, "Gave It All," a song that he wrote alongside fellow artists Wayne Watts, Cleopatra and produced by Wic Jones. The song's music video is in post-production and will highlight the accomplishments of three female athletes, including Denver South High School basketball junior, Neveah Millard.
The song was inspired by a trip to Cody, Wyoming. Bright Future Media owner and studio engineer, Stevie Buggz, came up with the idea of pitching music to Kanye West.
"We all got in the car and drove to Cody. We spent a couple days up there trying to find Kanye. During the nighttime when we were staying in our Airbnb, we would be cooking up beats and started working on, "Gave It All" right there."
The team didn't meet Kanye, but left with a record they were proud of and stamped not just a moment, but a message that's true to Lane-O himself.
"Time," Lane-O said in reference to the thing he's had to sacrifice the most in pursuit of his dream. "I've had to give up a lot of free time with me being a father and a husband."
He quit his corporate job two years ago and is now getting ready to release his first studio album titled, "Us" an 11-track project that's centered around the idea of understanding the self.
"We are all we have and I feel like we were put here to be able to have one another for support," Lane-O said. "I wouldn't be able to have an "Us," a nucleus, a family or a village if I wasn't understanding myself. [In the album] I'm talking about a lot of things that I think young men in general just need."
Lane-O's comfortable speaking about his imperfections, and says he's learned to embrace that about himself over the years.
"Doing that inner work, it's been monumental, man. I've given myself a break, just given myself that grace and taking a lot of pressure off me," he said.
A father of three, Lane-O's definition of career success is centered on leaving something behind for the next generation of artists that might look like or simply relate to him.
"Whether that be my own kids or kids in the community, I just really want to establish a new lane. Something that I can pass on to the next generation."
As for Lane-O's series prediction?
"Nuggets in seven," he said, "but I don't think it's gonna be easy. I'm ready. Let's do it. Let's go Nuggets."
You can listen to Lane-O's song, "Gave It All" and Wayne Watt's "Make Money" on Spotify.
