In his current video for "I'm Back," AZ borrows the plot from Denzel Washington's "Training Day," where a cop teaches his young partner the ropes. On Tuesday the Brooklyn native likened his next project to a "Training Day" — of sorts — for criminals.

"I'm doing this movie with Ray J, Maia Campbell, Chico DeBarge and Lisa Raye," AZ said yesterday from the Detroit set of "Caesar." The rapper stars as a drug kingpin in the film. "It's some gangsta sh--. Me being Caesar, being the head of the film, I'm trying to give the lifestyle up. Ray J, being my little cousin [in the movie], he wants to get in the game. I'm giving him the torch, let him carry the name on. I'm also letting him know it's all kinds of sh-- in the game. I'm putting him through all types of street tests. He saw me in his younger years while I was doing my thing, now that he's older, he's trying to follow in my footsteps."

The film is already two weeks into a scheduled six-week shoot, and AZ said that aside from his attempts to get some scenes between the sheets with his movie love interest Lisa Raye, there's been a lot of wheelin' and dealin' when the cameras stop rolling.

"Love is love, everybody is politicking and vibing," he said of the set. "After we finish the movie, we all gonna lock in for the soundtrack."

Two people AZ is looking forward to collaborating with in the future is Nas and Foxy Brown. The trio, who made one album along with rapper Nature under the name the Firm, were supposed to reunite onstage during New York radio station Hot 97's Summer Jam concert this year, but due to Nas' no-show, everything went kaput (see "Nas A No-Show At Summer Jam, Denies Planned Mock Lynching Of Jay-Z").

"I swear, I don't know," AZ said, seemingly growing weary at the question, about the trio rejoining for a follow-up to their 1997 album. "I don't even know. I ain't even gonna lie. It's up in the air like a muthaf---er, but I'm here for it. Everybody is definitely politicking right now so it can still become a reality."

As for the AZ and Nas duet LP, the former Visualizer hints that project is likely to happen first.

"That's still there too," he said. "With all the chaos that's been going down, we had to fall back a minute. Hopefully we can keep it on schedule and start by the end of the year."

Don't look for AZ to be starting any projects with Nas' on-wax nemesis Jay-Z or any members of the Roc-A-Fella family anytime soon. Despite the chatter on the rumor mill, AZ says he's not in any negotiations to sign to Roc-A-Fella Records.

"Nah, I ain't going to do that," he said. "I am trying to get the label deal for [my company] Quiet Money."