The Great Hip Hop Hoax

Screening Dates:
Mon 23 September 8:45pm

Director: Jeanie Finlay
Starring: Gavin Bain, Billy Boyd

Already tagged The Imposter of music documentaries, The Great Hip Hop Hoax is exactly what it says on the tin: the story of two Dundee college boys, Billy Boyd and Gavin Bain, who, having been dismissed by the music biz as ‘the rapping Proclaimers’, reinvented themselves as Californian homeboys Silibil n’ Brains, and went onto achieve considerable, if brief, international success.

Finlay’s film combines candid interviews, some knockout performances, cleverly animated dramatic reconstructions, and Beastie Boys-style tour footage shot by the fraudsters themselves to create a wryly compelling account of their bold deception.

As Finlay herself puts it, “Lying is a fundamental part of human nature – but could you lie about your whole identity… all for the hollow promise of fame? I also wanted to discover what the lasting effect on them was.” Her film revealingly does so.

“AN INTRIGUING AND SLIGHTLY TRAGIC TALE…” The Scotsman