50 Cent Gains Support As Shreveport City Council Approves Economic Development District To Reinforce His Film And TV Projects
50 Cent is expanding his entertainment ventures in Shreveport, LA, as the city positions itself to become a major new hub for film and television.
The Shreveport City Council recently approved the creation of the Film and Entertainment Gateway Economic Development District, designed to support 50 Cent’s production projects, the Shreveport Times reports.
According to the outlet, the district covers properties he owns or leases and adds a 2% tax on all properties within its boundaries. As the Shreveport Times reported, this will not impose new taxes on residents unless they make purchases within the district.
In 2024, 50 Cent’s G-Unit Film & Television took over the former Millennium Studios on a 30-year lease from the city, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. In additional reporting by the Shreveport Times, Millennium Studios, a 985,000-square-foot property, was renamed G-Unit Studios. This came alongside his $2.4 million in downtown real estate, per the outlet, making him one of the city’s largest property owners and establishing G-Unit Studios as the second-largest Black-owned studio in the country, behind Tyler Perry’s Atlanta studio, as AFROTECH™ previously reported.
According to the Shreveport Times’ recent report, production at 50 Cent’s facility has been delayed due to flooding. Shreveport Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark told the outlet, “If we don’t intercept the water further up the way, they’re still going to have issues,” adding that drainage concerns must be resolved before production can begin.
Councilman James Green echoed the concern to the outlet, saying, “If a building is flooding and you’re supposed to be putting millions of dollars in there for your studio then it would be a crackhead move to go and put stuff in there that you’re going to have to basically take right back out. It just makes good business sense. We have not finished fixing what needs to be fixed.”
In the meantime, G-Unit Studios is developing a new show titled “Shreveport Justice,” which, according to a G-Unit representative, per the Shreveport Times, will authentically highlight local police and the sheriff’s office.
50 Cent’s Shreveport ventures position his entertainment projects as part of the broader effort to strengthen its local economy.
