Audible has partnered with rapper, entrepreneur, and actress Queen Latifah and her production company, Flavor Unit, on a multi-project first-look development deal. Audible and Flavor Unit will create a slate of audio-only original projects.
“We are so excited to collaborate with Audible on a collection of shows that will highlight different communities, community leaders, and friends of mine. A common thread within all of these shows will be to share stories that bring hope and entertainment to those at home who’ve had a tough year, ” Queen Latifah said in a written statement.
The first project is Streets, Rhymes & Sugar: A Hip-Hop Memoir by entrepreneur and screenwriter Michael Elliot (Brown Sugar, Just Wright, Like Mike). This Audible original is scheduled to be released on August 5.
This project will chronicle Elliot’s path from homeless teenager roaming the streets of Philadelphia to successful screenwriter. Elliot will also release a scripted romantic comedy, Technically Speaking, about a single mother who falls for the founder of the big tech company she works for in Silicon Valley.
Zola Mashariki, head of Audible Studios, praised Queen Latifah.
“Profoundly talented, multi-hyphenate, Newark native Queen Latifah has always honed in on culturally relevant, representative and hugely entertaining content,” Mashariki said. “Having worked with Queen Latifah, Shakim Compere, and Flavor Unit for years across various film and TV projects, I’ve had a front row seat to watching their creative magic at work. We absolutely can’t wait to create and innovate with them on a slew of new audio projects.”
Queen Latifah will also do a seven-part episodic series, Unity in the Community, where she focuses on community activists who are the glue that keep their neighborhoods together. Each 30-minute episode will focus on an activist who is making concrete plans that can be modeled in other communities.
“The Newark community is at the core of Audible’s DNA so we’re especially excited to have Queen Latifah cover social activism in her hometown and beyond with Unity in the Community,’ Mashariki said.