STATE PROPERTY

Half a star

Let them keep it.

Running time: 98 minutes. Rated R (graphic violence, nudity, profanity). At the Empire, the Nova, the Coliseum, others.

‘STATE Property” is a low-end scam by Lions Gate Films – whose recent “The Wash” was a masterpiece by comparison – to separate unwary Martin Luther King weekend audiences from their $10.

Like “The Wash,” this cheaply made gangsta flick – shot on smeary digital video with murky sound – was dumped into theaters without advance critics’ screenings. Consider yourself warned.

Rapper Beanie Sigel plays Beans, a failed rapper who forms a crew to sell cocaine on the mean streets of Philadelphia.

Beans faces opposition in the form of a rival crew headed by Untouchable J (Jay-Z) and Dame (Damon Dash), who kidnaps Beans’ girlfriend for a $500,000 ransom.

But that’s a hill of, well, beans compared to the $5 million Beans offers – to buy the silence of an attempted murder victim who’s set to testify when Beans is busted by the cops.

Abdul Malik Abbott, identified as the director of several Jay-Z videos, doesn’t exactly dazzle with his feature directing debut.

“State Property” is basically a static series of semi-improvised (and semi-coherent) raps between the stars – “wassup bitch?” is a sample line of dialogue – punctuated by shots of topless women (often kissing each other) and a none-too-convincing series of shootouts.

The only time the proceedings rise much above the level of a yawn is at the ludicrous climax, when Beans’ cohorts mow down the witness in a courtroom.

“S- – – like this only happens in the movies,” Beans remarks in a voice-over.

Only in very bad movies like “State Property,” Beans.