Sound Bites: Nas, Nate Dogg, Puff Daddy

March 16 -- Nas Working on Indie Film

Rap star Nas is co-writing, co-producing, and co-starring in a dark comedy feature titled Sacred Is the Flesh, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The rapper will play a small-potatoes talent agent in Gary, Ind., who gets in over his head when he aims to go big time in Hollywood. Exit Wounds' Isaiah Washington will play a former high-school classmate who has become a music manager, according to the paper. Before that materializes, expect to see the rapper in Ticker, along with Steven Seagal, Tom Sizemore, and Dennis Hopper.

Four of Five Charges Against Nate Dogg Dropped

Nate Dogg, whose real name is Nathaniel Dwayne Hale, will stand trial on a charge of possession of a firearm by a felon, but four other charges against the rapper will be dropped, reports The Associated Press. Hale was accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend last June, holding her against her will, assaulting her, and setting a car on fire. Three of the charges were dismissed Wednesday after the ex-girlfriend refused a subpoena, saying she did not want her son's father to be sent to prison; an arson charge was dismissed for lack of evidence. Los Cerritos Superior Court Commissioner Edward Drayer said there was enough evidence for Hale to face the lone weapons charge. Hale, who is 31, has recorded with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Warren G.

Combs Jurors Continue to Mull Case

Deliberations resumed today in the gun possession and bribery trial of hip hop mogul Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs after a session on Thursday that left the jury exhausted. Combs, one of the biggest names in rap music, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of illegal gun possession and bribery charges stemming from a shooting at a Times Square, N.Y., nightspot in 1999 in which three people were wounded. The jury, which began deliberating on Wednesday afternoon, asked on Thursday to look at photographs of the nightclub, hear police testimony about the crime scene again, and examine several bullets found there. The jury is also considering attempted murder and assault charges against rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow, as well as bribery and illegal gun possession charges against Combs' bodyguard Anthony "Wolf" Jones. (Reuters contributed to this report)