Questlove & Black Thought’s Two One Five Adds Cole Brown In Newly Created General Manager & Head Of Business Operations Role

EXCLUSIVE: The hits keep comin’ for The Roots main men.

Just weeks after the Earth, Wind & Fire documentary from Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson (who directed the pic too) and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter’s Two One Five Entertainment landed at HBO, the Grammy winner’s company is expanding once again.

To further scaling up in the marketplace, Two One Five has brought Cole Brown on board as General Manager & Head of Business Operations, I’ve learned.

“As Two One Five Entertainment continues to grow, we couldn’t be more excited to welcome Cole Brown to the family as General Manager and Head of Business Operations,” said Thompson and Trotter today to Deadline. “With his vision and drive, we are excited to have him aboard to help bring to life the projects we are so passionate about and share these important stories with the world.” 

The creator and EP of Starz’s Magic City: An American Fantasy docuseries that premiered earlier this year, Brown is also the author of Greyboy: Finding Blackness in a White World, among other works. Formerly of Boston Consulting Group, Brown has written for CNN and NBC and appeared as a political commentator. In his newly created strategic Two One Five gig, Brown will focus on “developing and executing a cohesive business strategy that leverages the company’s storytelling expertise and creative network to reach wider audiences and build enduring cultural impact,” according to the WME-repped company.

 Over the last year alone, the maestro drummer and the iconic  MC frontman of the legendary hip-hop band had another Sundance Film Festival success with the Park City debut this past January of the Questlove directed Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius). A piercing look at the life and barrier breaking of the now late great Sly Stone (who passed away at the age of 82 on June 9), Sly Lives! launched on Hulu, which also had picked up Questlove’s Oscar winning Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), and Disney+ starting February 13.

Later in 2025, Tonight Show bandmember Questlove brought some more love to NBC with the acclaimed Ladies & Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music as a part of the later-night show’s half century celebration.

Oh, and in February, as Deadline exclusively reported, Two One Five hired  AGBO veteran Josh Williams onboard as their Director of Scripted Development.

With a first-look deal with Universal Television to develop scripted and non-scripted programming, Two One Five has also produced content for partners such as the House of Mouse, AMC, Amazon, VH1, BET, YouTube and Twitch. Along with the growing company being repped by WME, Thompson, Trotter, The Roots and Two One Five are all represented by their manager Shawn Gee.

BTW – regardless of who ends up owning Warner Bros Discovery, the Earth, Wind & Fire film is schedule to hit the stage at HBO and on HBO Max in 2026.