Scots rappers found success with American accents

One half of Dundee duo confesses to conning leading record producers

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A DUNDEE duo won a record deal by pretending to be Californian rappers.

Billy Boyd and Gavin Bain spent two years faking US accents after winning a record contract with Sony.

Known as Silibil’n’Brains, the pair moved to London, played sellout gigs and toured with Eminem’s band D12.

They recorded in top studios and attended parties with Kelly Osbourne, Green Day and Jamelia.

They also met celebrities including Little Britain stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas.

Mr Boyd, 27, who now runs fashion boutique Concrete Jungle in Dundee, said: “We would phone up record companies and say we were Scottish rappers and they’d hang up.

“Then as a joke, I put on an American accent saying we were here for two weeks and straight away they said, ‘Can you come and meet us’?

“Then we went on stage and rapped in American accents.

“When a guy from Island records came up to us afterwards we knew we’d look stupid if we spoke in our normal accents, and from that moment on, there was no turning back.”

They were introduced to music industry boss Jonathan Shalit, and signed to Sony after a bidding war.

The duo pretended to be American from 2003 until 2005, when the group disbanded.

He added: “That whole life was really, really weird.

“It was a rollercoaster ride. It was great fun. But I don’t miss it.”

Mr Bain has also given up his Californian persona and now works in a London watch designer’s office.