Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux says the city has been accommodating to rapper and businessman Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson regarding his G-Unit Film Studios project and says it’s time for Jackson to deliver.

“Well, we have been most accommodating to Mr. Jackson from the very beginning, and now it’s time for him to perform,” Arceneaux said.

Jackson’s claims

Jackson said on the podcast “The Crew” that the revitalization has happened without real backing from the city’s administration. He claimed leaders told him there’s no budget for his requests and suggested a meeting with him would just be good publicity for an election.

“I don’t know where he gets that from, but… that is utter baloney,” Arceneaux said.

Jackson said it was the administration — and the city of Shreveport — not backing him. He also said residents have reason to be skeptical, pointing to past people who made promises to the city that were never kept.

Arceneaux disputes that characterization, saying Jackson was only talking about Shreveport as a whole, not his administration.

“He talked about the support of Shreveport, not necessarily support of the administration. And he was talking — and by the way, I called him months ago, and I have not received a call from him,” Arceneaux said.

Jackson has also raised concerns about a proposed deal near the Red River Entertainment District. He recently posted on Facebook that he only makes deals that make sense and said he’s “gonna have to pull back on Red River.”

Arceneaux said that deal never moved forward and there is no signed contract.

“We don’t have any contract with him with respect to the Red River Entertainment District. That’s where he got unhappy,” Arceneaux said.

What’s next

Despite the public back-and-forth, Arceneaux says he expects Jackson to follow through on his commitments. He has one direct message for Jackson.

“Please return my call,” Arceneaux said.

Arceneaux says if Jackson walks away from the project, the city will move on, pointing to a recent economic forecast projecting more than 4,000 new jobs for the Shreveport metro area. S: KSLA 12