50 Cent Explains Frustrations With Shreveport Leadership in New Interview

Unlike a lot of the people who come through town like a traveling snake-oil-salesman pitching 3-wheel cars or pro sports you've never heard of, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson possesses the financial capital to transform Downtown Shreveport into the image he's selling. He has openly expressed his vision to invest millions into the local economy, in an attempt to revitalize the city and its decaying film infrastructure.

Residents have to wonder if 50 Cent still wants to be Shreveport's stepdad after all the pushback. The plan for 50 Cent has always been ambitious for the area...however people initially assumed this was a promotional stop, before it turned into a serious real estate venture.

He still says he wants to create an entertainment hub downtown, and bring film and television production to Millennium Studios. This includes hosting major events like the Humor and Harmony Festival, which brought massive crowds to the city.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: The Movie Scream Was Based On a Shreveport Native

This vision has been building for years now...and people across Caddo Parish have been watching closely. He signed a lease for Millennium Studios, and began purchasing multiple properties in the downtown area to secure his footprint. He's spent over $4 million dollars just acquiring those downtown properties. His G-Unit team claims he has already invested over $10 million into the Shreveport area...making it a massive injection of capital for the local economy.

Where Are We Now With The Shreveport Investment?

But the momentum seems to have hit a wall. A standstill currently exists between an entertainment mogul, and local politicians.

The city wants the investment...but leaders do not seem willing to clear the path for it to happen efficiently. 50 Cent is dealing with a city government that operates at a vastly different speed than the entertainment industry. Think of it as a varsity team versus the JV.

Jackson has actually talked about this a couple of times publicly, sharing his frustrations. But this week he may have has his most directly airing of grievances to date...as he landed on a podcast alongside comedian Andrew Schulz (who appeared at 50 Cent's Humor and Harmony Fest in Shreveport), and Shreveport came up.

50 Cent Speaks Out On The Crew Has It Podcast

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson recently appeared on the podcast The Crew Has It hosted by actors Michael Rainey Jr and Gianni Paolo. Comedian Andrew Schulz, who performed at the Humor and Harmony Fest in Shreveport, was also on the panel to share his thoughts on the city. During the podcast, Schulz mentioned that he came to Shreveport with 50 Cent for the festival, and the hosts got really excited about their experiences with the festival. When they asked about doing the event again, 50 Cent shared where he currently stands with Shreveport, saying:

"I ran into some things. Look, the whole revitalization part of that idea right, the city...I get into it because I like the biggest idea every time I approach things in business, the biggest possible deal is how I approach...It just the idea of revitalizing the city without the city support, exactly, is not a good idea. You're never going to win if you're fighting with the city, man. The government, their local stuff is a little crazy."

Issues With Shreveport Leaders And 50 Cent Discussed On Podcast

50 Cent quickly pointed out the underlying issues in Shreveport are with the local government...laying out the friction he has experienced with local politicians and the bureaucracy slowing down his investments. He noted that the city claims they have no budget for his initiatives...yet politicians still want meetings for optics rather than action. Which we have seen play out, as 50 Cent has had direct issues with the City Council, and called out members online.

He mentioned that local leaders want to have a face to face meetings for no reason, when they already admitted they have no budget. 50 Cent specifically pointed out issues with Mayor Tom Arceneaux, who is currently in a reelection campaign. While he didn't mention Arceneaux by name, he said:

"There's no budget for that, and I'm like okay, so...but he wants to have a meeting again, a face-to-face meeting. Like, I have time to be in your face face-to-face for no f***ing reason. Yeah, you already told me you don't have a budget."

Jackson also said:

"So the next step he would have to go to city council to get the money. If there was no ask made to city council, then you don't even have intentions for that to happen. And then you look and you say okay, so yeah I don't have time to talk to you just so you can feel like...you can go back and report that you spoke to me cuz that's good for your election side of things."

50 Cent expressed that he expects people in government to treat him as Curtis Jackson the mogul, and not just a rapper. He also addressed the deep skepticism from the local community. He acknowledged that the residents of Shreveport and Bossier City have been let down before by outside promises. Jackson said:

"They're conditioned to believe nothing's going to work. For so long they've been let down so many times that they doubt every single thing that you saying. They've been promised a lot, nobody delivers. So if you even change this, we might get less than what we already have right."

But 50 Cent also highlighted the positive impact he has already had on the region. He pointed out the drastic drop in crime during his festival week. He mentioned there were no violent crimes for 16 days straight in the area. Jackson said:

"Look, if a hood is going to send you a signal they don't want you...you're not going to be able to do anything right. Like there was no violent crimes for 16 days there. Governor Landry when he see, he stopped Andrew, he looked at me, he said you can do that? Like you can stop violent crime."

He noted his physical presence successfully pushed the state government to send funding toward North Louisiana...a region that historically lacked state support.

Will 50 Cent Be Abandoning Shreveport Because Of Politicians?

But 50 Cent does not sound like he is abandoning his initial commitments to Shreveport...and he remains focused on his original goals. During the podcast, Jackson said:

"I'm gonna do some things there, and you know, but look, it's not...I'm not not doing what I said I was going to do right, but I'm not in a hurry to invest and do the things outside beyond that because of the way they treated the situation."

Development of this size does not change overnight and it takes time to execute properly. Jackson said:

"You don't expect anything to change overnight. It's going to take time to do it right...even with the money there, the budget there, you still got to do it." Jackson said "If you understand what those large constructions are, the contractual contractors and the commitments for that, that don't happen in a couple of conversations. Michael (podcast host), that is legals. I got additional lawyers working on that."

The group discussed the massive success of the festival in North Louisiana. They talked about how downtown Shreveport felt like Las Vegas during the event. Everyone involved seemed completely blown away by the energy of the crowds. However a second date for the festival has yet to materialize...likely due to the issues with Shreveport's elected officials.

Shreveport's Stepdad Is Disappointed But Hopeful

During the interview, 50 Cent never firmly closes the door on Shreveport. He still sounds hopeful that things can eventually work out between both sides. You can watch the whole interview here (skip to the 1 hour and 17 minute mark for the Shreveport conversation):

He is simply disappointed in the political process and the slow moving bureaucracy. The city has a massive opportunity sitting right in front of them...and it is up to local leadership to decide if they want to embrace it or watch it walk away. If city leaders want this downtown investment vision to come true they need to step up. It is a lot better to invest time into someone with a real vision than to let this momentum slip through the cracks.

Much like a good stepdad, he's not angry, just disappointed.