Latino rappers Big Punisher and Fat Joe may think of themselves as "Twinz," as the duo are commonly referred as, but it's Joe and Mack-10 who actually get to play brothers in a new straight-to-video film, "Thicker Than Water.

Joe and Mack 10 are cast in the film as rival gang leaders who, unbeknownst to them, are also half-brothers. The rappers started shooting the film, which was developed from a plot penned by Mack 10, in Los Angeles recently with Ice Cube, B-Real and Big Pun.

Really, I just couldn't wait for the opportunity for someone to put me in their movie," Mack 10 told MTV News recently. "So, I had to create the opportunity for myself. [article id="1443994"]I believe weight broke the wagon. I don't believe in waiting. [400k QuickTime][/article] I believe in creating opportunities and moving on them.

For co-star Fat Joe, working on "Thicker than Water" allows him to address some of the larger issues facing hip-hop today, including the persistent east-west

rivalry between artists.

[This film has] the two heads of the east and the west coast getting together to do a movie," Joe said. "and try and settle down all the east-west tension within rap and stuff like that. There's just a lot of positive things to come out of the film, it's just hot.

Both the "Thicker Than Water" film and accompanying soundtrack should arrive in stores in December 1998 or January 1999.