Playback: The REAL California Schemin'

About this episode

Olly Mann interviews Gavin Bain about the extraordinary story of the rap duo Silibil 'n' Brains and their deception in the music industry.

The amazing true story behind James McAvoy's directorial debut feature: Olly Mann sits down with Gavin Bain, one half of Silibil 'n' Brains⁠, the Californian rap group that never was. "Sometimes you have to be other people to become who you are." Best mates with Eminem, signed by Sony, and on the verge of international superstardom, Silibil 'n' Brains were the music industry's Next Big Thing. There was just one problem: they'd never been to California. They were from Dundee. In this extraordinary interview with Olly, Gavin Bain - who, as Brains Mcloud, was one half of the hip hop duo - recalls how a heady mix of humiliation, desperation and sheer chutzpah lead him to fool the entire music industry - and brought him to the brink. This interview first aired in 2017, under the title, The Confidence Trick. Now remastered, we're republishing this episode to coincide with the new feature film, California Schemin', released on April 10th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Olly Mann

Guest: Gavin Bain

Topics covered

• music industry
• hip hop
• identity
• deception
• friendship
• film

Keywords

• James McAvoy
• Silibil 'n' Brains
• California
• Dundee
• music industry
• Eminem
• hip hop
• deception
• film

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Silibil 'n' Brains, Sony

Books & works: California Schemin'

Places: California, Dundee

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