December 23 [10:00 EDT] -- Film Director Steven Spielberg is providing the financial backing for a real-life gangster rap record being produced for charity by British trip hop star Tricky, according to the London Mirror.

The 16-track CD will feature a number of notorious British criminals rapping about their criminal lives with some of the lyrics written by the gangsters themselves. The record is due out in February, the proceeds will go to benefit boys clubs and inner-city youth projects.

Tricky wrote the music for the CD, which also features Seal. The project was initiated by Tricky because, according to one of the participants, the musician was brought up in a rough part of Bristol and wants to repay his community. The government is not allowing those currently behind bars to record from their cells, so it's ex-inmates only.

One former British gangster who will be featured on the CD, Tony Lambrianou, told the London Mirror that a career in music is preferable to villainy and that he didn't think they were glorifying anything. "We're not bragging about the things we've done," said Lambrianou, "we're just telling it straight."