Freedom Road Productions, the company run by rapper-musician Common and his manager and partner Derek Dudley, have hired Shelby Stone as President of Production, Deadline has reported.

Stone is the former president of Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit Entertainment, where she was an executive producer on HBO’s “Bessie” and the VH1 series “Single Ladies.” Stone will no doubt be working on some of Common’s upcoming HBO projects. As Deadline points out, he’d previously signed a two-year first-look deal with the network.

“We are more than enthusiastic to have Shelby Stone as our President of Production,” said Common. “We are confident that she will elevate Freedom Road and help crystallize our visions for what we want to achieve in film, theater, and television.”

Women and Hollywood got in touch with Stone, who said, “I’m delighted to have been asked to join Common and Derek Dudley in their production company Freedom Road Entertainment. As the world recently witnessed in Common’s speech at VH1’s Hip Hop honors, he is a true humanist and a passionate champion of civil rights and women’s rights. He and Derek have a real vision for the company which carries that activism into areas which actively embrace a wide array of storytelling and storytellers. As a black woman who’s spent her whole life tirelessly championing the voices of the underserved I couldn’t be more excited about the tremendous opportunity ahead.”