AceShowbiz -

This could be the greatest leap that rappers have made in film industry so far. T.I. and Common have satisfyingly landed deal to star together with Oscar-winning thespians Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington in "American Gangster", the latest big screen project coming from Oscar-nominated director Ridley Scott. T.I. then will play Washington's nephew while Common is going to portray the actor's brother.

Putting his music career temporarily on hold to concentrate filming the picture for the next three months, T.I. is really pumped to be working alongside so many superb talents in the film. "It's like I'm going to school and learning from the best in the business," so he remarked. "I'm looking forward to (American Gangster), and I'm honored."

Produced by Scott and Brian Grazer, "American Gangster" is made based on a long-gestating screenplay by "Gangs of New York" writer Steven Zaillian and follows a police detective (Crowe) in his pursuit to catch a Harlem drug lord (Washington) during the 1970s. It originally was supposed to feature Benicio Del Toro and Don Cheadle, but their inclusion in the cast list had to be aborted as the twosome ultimately backed out due to scheduling conflicts.