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I was born and raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, which is about as far away from New Orleans as you can get geographically (and culturally) and not be in Texas or Arkansas. In the past, the city has made news for its crime, its infrastructure issues, and its troubled economy, but that changed a few years ago when “Ratchet City,” as so many of us call it, found an unlikely ally in notorious player-hater Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Yes, 50 Cent, the rapper-turned-actor known for hits like “In Da Club” and “Candy Shop,” is buying up property and making plans to become the Tyler Perry of my hometown. Though I still don’t know why the Street Fighter star loves it there, I’m genuinely optimistic about both his future and that of Shreveport.
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50 Cent Has Ambitious Plans For His G-Unit Studios
Back in April 2024, my social media feeds were full of friends and family posting about 50 Cent being in town to sign a lease and take over the old Millennium Studios building, which was used to make all kinds of movies in Shreveport’s big film boom in the mid-to-late 2000s. But that wasn’t all, as he also shared on Facebook his plan to drastically expand his operations of G-Unit Film & Television outside of the old expo hall where I attended ArtBreak as a kid by constructing a state-of-the-art studio in the city.
Speaking at an event in Shreveport, where the mayor gave him the key to the city, the Shreveport Times reported that 50 Cent said that his in-the-works studio would be similar to Tyler Perry’s studio in Atlanta, which is admittedly quite the claim. Though the “318” has heard this kind of talk before by businesses that’ll go unnamed, this time it felt different.
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The Rapper And Producer Is Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is And Has Adopted My Hometown
Ever since 50 Cent set his sights on Shreveport, he’s continued to be one of the city’s biggest supporters, both in terms of talking about it all over social media and buying up buildings throughout downtown, many of which have been abandoned for some years. The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate newspaper reported in December 2024 that the rapper and entrepreneur had amassed a stable of properties in the areas near G-Unit Film & Television, which makes perfect sense.
In August 2024, a month before his Expend4bles opened, he brought Humor & Harmony Weekend to Shreveport, a festival that brought comedians like Katt Williams and Matt Rife to town along with musical acts like Cam’ron, Master P, and 2 Chainz. This wasn’t a one-time event, as 50 Cent is bringing the festival back to the banks of the Red River again in 2026, along with a more-permanent version of the massive dome he constructed for the festivities last summer, per KSLA.
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I Honestly Think This Could Be The Best Thing To Happen To Shreveport In A Generation
I lived in Shreveport the first 23 years of my life, and it’s a place I still frequent. My family, my friends, and some of my most cherished memories still live there, and they all deserve something like this to happen to them. This may sound a little hyperbolic, but 50 Cent coming to town and turning the area into a media and cultural hotspot could be the biggest thing to happen there in a generation.
It was once a booming town at the center of the oil & gas industry, massive GM and AT&T plants, a great minor league baseball team, and some of the best food you can find. While the food is still there and better than ever, Shreveport could really use some good news like this.
I don’t know what the future holds (well, besides 50 Cent clowning on Ice Cube’s War of the Worlds), but I have the utmost confidence in the man who might be the best thing to happen to Shreveport in a very long time.
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