It's a story that seems custom-made for a wide-eyed documentarian: two Scottish rappers by the stage name of Silibil N' Brains adopt fake American personae and accents and become overnight success. It's a fascinating story about cultural identity and how said identities can inhibit or guarantee advancement in society. The film utilizes the familiar framework of the Young Talents who Gain Success Too Quickly and are unfortunately Consumed By Excess. I suppose that this framework does the story of Silibil N' Brains justice, but I wish that Jeanie Finlay's The Great Hip Hop Hoax had focused more on WHY being American was so important for people in the British music industry. I think that angle could have resulted in a much more potent documentary. But as it stands The Great Hip Hop Hoax is competently told and compulsively watchable.
7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment