The sun is setting over Alice Springs, and in a tiny makeshift studio, Warlpiri man James Nelson, 18, stands in front of a microphone and raps to a beat.
His words flow in a steady stream, as he describes the pressures of growing up as an Aboriginal teen in the outback town.
Sitting nearby, Alice Springs rapper Dan McAleer — also known as Dan the Underdog — nods along as James raps.
He cheers every time his young student nails a verse.
The more the lyrics flow, the more James's quiet eyes light up.
"It gets my mind off everything, like mental health issues," he says.
"I was going through a lot of stuff, I just lost my uncle. And I couldn't sleep at night.
"Then I started rapping, you know, writing down stuff. And it helped me with a lot of things."
Rap classes provide positive outlet
For the past three years, Dan has been running rap classes for young people in Alice Springs.
Some students, such as James, are teens in the community with a passion for hip hop, just looking to grow their skills.
Others are detainees at the local youth detention centre, where Dan runs classes twice a week.
But whether they're in his home studio or behind bars, each of Dan's students has faced significant challenges in their short lives.
And they all find a place of refuge in front of the mic.
"It definitely helps young people to process. And even if it's not processing, they're at least getting their emotions out," Dan says.
"They let it out in the booth instead of doing something potentially negative."
'It makes them feel like somebody'
Born in Adelaide, Dan spent many of his formative years in Buffalo, New York, before moving back to Australia.
After teaching rap at the notorious Don Dale prison in Darwin for a year, he moved to the Red Centre.
Today, he juggles "about 20 jobs", sharing his skills at the local youth centre and bail accommodation, as well as at disability service Incite Arts.
But a large focus of his work is at the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre.
Territory Families says his classes are attracting a consistently high number of young detainees, helping them express themselves and build confidence.
"When you finish a song, everybody's like slapping each other up. It's a great feeling," Dan says.
"Often by the time I turn my car on I can hear it out in the yard, and they are dancing to the new song that they just recorded with me.
"It's beautiful, you know? It makes them feel like somebody."
Working to be a 'positive influence'
Even after young people are released from detention, Dan endeavours to keep working with his students, as they navigate life outside the four walls of a cell.
"One guy was telling me like, 'I've changed my ways, but everybody still looks at me like a criminal,'" Dan says.
"He said, 'If I walk into IGA, I get followed. If I walk around town, I get followed by the police'.
"Like, give kids a chance, man. Let them surprise you."
While Dan acknowledges some of his young students will return to the youth justice system, he wants to be there for them no matter what.
"I can't change what they do outside," he says.
"But I try to be that positive influence where I can and just get the young people doing something productive."
'It's helped with the healing'
Sitting down after rapping his final verse, James has a warm gleam in his eye.
One day, he hopes to use this new-found passion to honour his late uncle, who raised him.
"I'm thinking about making a song about him," he says.
"Just wish I could just say goodbye and see him one last time before he went. Because it was so unexpected."
For James, rapping has become a refuge — a way to work through the challenges faced by so many young Aboriginal people in Alice Springs.
He hopes for others, it can do the same.
"It's helped with the healing," he says.
"It will help young people to stop doing all the stuff, like bad stuff, you know? Clear their minds."