For up-and-coming Hip-Hop artist J. Smith, gigs in his local suburb of Palos Hill, IL were hard to come by, and clubs in downtown Chicago were weary of booking an unfamiliar name.

So Smith did what any new artist who’s looking for attention would do: He recorded his first live performance and captured how it all came together in a five-part Youtube documentary titled DEMO.

DEMO was transformed into a documentary by lead director/co-producer and local music video director Ichiro Hino. According to the DEMO press release, Hino, “focuses on capturing interview footage from the performers and crew that would intertwine with the session.”

Additionally, artists from Chicago-based arts and entertainment company Final Fight Family including Que, The Avantist and Está Vivo helped enhance the performance by integrating a wide variety of sounds and samples that ranged from pop, rock and folk music into Smith’s Hip-Hop style.

DEMO was filmed at the Music Garage, a major music rehearsal/studio space located on Chicago’s west side. Production credits include set designer Christine Pierce, assistant director/director of photography Desiree Agngarayngay, co-director Anthony Balcaitis and live sound engineers Yuki Tasaka & Vinnie Ippolito.

Below is DEMO Part One. You can view all five parts, behind the scenes footage, audio clips and a photo gallery from the project right now on Flavors.me/fffdemo.