The Great Hip Hop Hoax, 2013.
Directed by Jeanie Finlay.
SYNOPSIS:
A documentary by Jeanie Finlay, about a pair of Scottish rappers who decide to take on Californian aliases to get a record deal.
As soon as I read the premise, I knew that I would have to see this film. With such a deliciously unusual story, who could resist it? Fortunately, it did not disappoint.
The film begins by introducing Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, of Dundee, desperately calling and calling record companies. By some extraordinary good fortune, the duo were prolific users of video cameras to film one another, so we can see the genuine footage of the moment, both here and throughout the film. As soon as their accents are heard, the companies hang up. They’re ‘not what they’re looking for’. They’re ‘the rapping Proclaimers’.
Then, Gavin has a brainwave – he calls a company, and introduces himself in an American accent. The company are delighted with the opportunity of a fresh new Californian rap group, and fall over themselves asking for a demo.
From that moment, their fate is sealed. For of course, ‘what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive!’ Their gigs are bigger and bigger, their contacts are higher and higher up, until they are signed by Sony UK, all with not a single person discovering their true identities.
It was clearly an incredible deception, and Finlay shows plenty of footage from their madcap past, as well as the reflections of their current and more responsible selves. It is very interesting to see how little Gavin (‘Brains’) has changed, but how drastically different Billy (‘Silibil’) has become.
The plot thickens, the suspense grows ever deeper: we know they cannot possibly keep up the act forever, but still the stakes grow higher as each minute passes by, until they could legitimately be sued and jailed for fraud.
The film’s strength lies in its unwavering commitment to the story itself. After all, no gimmick or device could possibly be more intriguing and entertaining than the truth, and thus this film does great justice to ‘Silibil ‘n’ Brains’. Amid the joys and frivolities of their youth and fame, Finlay delicately expresses their frustrations and desperation, and especially the sadness in the separation from their families that they must maintain to keep up their cover stories.
While such a story is not so moving as to be life-changing, it was a truly excellent story, brilliantly told, and I would highly recommend it as an unusual insight into the music industry.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie ★ ★ ★
Samantha Morrison
Originally published June 26, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
