Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Shocks Shreveport City Council Meeting by Appearing

In a scene that looked like it was straight out of the television series he produces, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson brought the crowd to their feet at today's Shreveport City Council Meeting. The rap and film mogul was in town to conduct business with the city, a continuation of agreements Shreveport has been making with his G-Unit brands.

The short appearance from 50 Cent seemed to come as an effort to show his commitment to the city. Which is something he tried to convey through his comments during the meeting. Telling the council, Mayor Tom Arceneaux, and those in attendance, that he views his projects in the city as a "legacy project". 50 Cent stated:

“This project is a legacy project for me. I don’t think I’ve done anything that directly affected as many people as this project will here in Shreveport. I’m just excited to get to it.”

This "legacy project" includes Jackson's lease of Millennium Studios in Downtown Shreveport, that the city agreed to in late 2023. The intent behind the studio lease was to move the filming of Jackson's G-Unit Film & Television Louisiana LLC to the city. The production company has produced numerous documentaries and feature films, but has made its mark creating television content for CBS Studios, Lionsgate Television, and Starz. Including his incredibly popular "Power" series.

In 2023, Jackson's company agreed to a long-term deal with Fox to produce content for their networks.

Today, Jackson was asking the city to expand upon the Millennium Studios deal, but leasing the Stageworks building in Downtown Shreveport. The building was once Shreveport's expo hall, but was retrofitted to be a soundstage during Shreveport's filming boom in the 2000s. More recently, the city has invested millions in converting the building to multi-sports facility.

Both Millennium Studios and Stageworks are owned by the City of Shreveport, which is why approvals of this magnitude are required to allow Jackson to lease the properties. The discussion over the Stageworks lease has lasted for almost a year, and today, with Jackson in attendance, the Council unanimously voted to give Jackson a multi-decade lease of Stageworks.

After the vote to approve his lease of Stageworks, the room erupted in a standing ovation, and Jackson spoke to the room at the Council meeting again. Getting a laugh from everyone as he told the room:

"I just wanted to say 'thank you'. You know, I've been a lot of places, with a lot of people and I’ve never been this nervous before.”

As a part of the Millennium and Stageworks deals, Jackson's company will assume all operational expenses of both buildings. Which could save the city around $50,000 a year.