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Film fame for hip hop hoaxers

Film fame for hip hop hoaxers

TWO MEN who duped the music industry through one of the greatest scams ever are set to tell their story to the world.

Billy Boyd (32) from Arbroath tricked everyone from Sony Music to MTV into believing he and his friend Gavin Bain were LA-born rappers Silibil N’ Brains, tipped for the top in the hip hop industry.

However, the truth was Billy and his fellow MC were nothing more than a pair of starving artists from Scotland, willing to do anything for a shot at fame and the exposure they felt their talents merited.

Now the tricksters’ exploits are set to be shown to the world at the South by South West (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas next week in a documentary film called The Great Hip Hop Hoax, following on from Gavin’s book California Schemin’.

Billy, who now works offshore, is getting set to jet out to Texas this weekend for press and promotion work before the film’s premiere and told The Courier he is ready to let the world know the truth.

“Throughout it all I never thought ‘I hope no one ever finds out’ I always saw it as an amazing story to have,” he said.

“We wanted to become the biggest thing in the world and then turn around and say ‘we’re Scottish!’ because it shouldn’t matter where you’re from.

“However, I didn’t realise how big we were but I’m looking forward to people seeing it now.”

The film has been made by Met Film London, Creative Scotland and the BBC and is scheduled for release in the UK this summer.

It documents Billy and Gavin’s instant rise to fame as Silibil N’ Brains and features self-recorded footage from their years of success, as well as animation and interviews.

The film is only one of two UK productions to be premiered at the famous creative arts festival in the USA and will be shown alongside creations by other well-known artists.

Billy, whose trip to Texas has been aided by a donation from the Townhouse Hotel in Arbroath, said it will be strange to finally be rubbing shoulders with the stars as his true identity, rather than the faked rap artist.

“It’s great,” he added. “I’m a very creative person and heavily involved in the film so I’m looking forward to that.”

The film will be released in the UK later this year and for more information visit hiphophoax.com.

mdalziel@thecourier.co.uk