Silibil N' Brains are a Scottish hip-hop duo consisting of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd. They are best known for masquerading as American rappers from California to secure a record deal, a story which formed the basis of Bain's 2010 memoir California Schemin' (later reprinted as Straight Outta Scotland) and was adapted into the documentary film The Great Hip Hop Hoax.
In the early 2000s, Bain and Boyd were working together in Scotland, but found that the idea of Scottish rap was not taken seriously in London.
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Silibil N' Brains are a Scottish hip-hop duo consisting of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd. They are best known for masquerading as American rappers from California to secure a record deal, a story which formed the basis of Bain's 2010 memoir California Schemin' (later reprinted as Straight Outta Scotland) and was adapted into the documentary film The Great Hip Hop Hoax.
In the early 2000s, Bain and Boyd were working together in Scotland, but found that the idea of Scottish rap was not taken seriously in London. After being dismissed as "rapping Proclaimers" during auditions because of their accents, they decided to take on American identities, pretending to be from San Jacinto in California. They created the personas of Silibil (Boyd, a play on "silly Bill" and "syllable") and Brains (Bain).
Under their new identity, they were more successful getting attention in London. They moved to the city and secured live work. They rapidly got management with Jonathan Shalit and later a record deal with Sony Music UK for two singles and an album. The pair worked on recording material and continued to perform live, including opening for D12, and appearing on MTV. Their Scottish identity was known only to a small circle.
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…shrink me down again
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