Moses Stone

Moses Kenneth Haughton Jr. (born October 19, 1986), known professionally as Moses Stone, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, DJ, entrepreneur, actor, and author. He is the founder of Haughton Ventures Inc., a private equity venture firm; Ventured Brands, a brand acquisition, development, marketing, and licensing company; and ARTSKY, a full-service media, entertainment, and content creation company.

Stone is best known as the songwriter, vocalist, and official ambassador of McDonald's landmark Black & Positively Golden campaign, for which he wrote and performed the anthem "We Golden" — recognized as the #1 rated commercial among African American audiences in over 16 years. The campaign earned a 2019 Clio Awards Shortlist Award in the Film Technique: Music Original category — one of the most prestigious recognitions in global advertising.

Stone has made appearances on MTV, BET, Showtime at the Apollo, NBC's The Voice, and Nickelodeon. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Maryland, his ethnicity is Jamaican American, with his mother Renita R. Lattimore from the United States and his father Moses Haughton Sr. from Kingston, Jamaica.

In 2019, Moses Stone achieved one of the most significant milestones of his career when the McDonald's Black & Positively Golden campaign — anchored by his original anthem "We Golden" — received a Clio Awards Shortlist Award in the Film Technique: Music Original category. The Clio Awards, widely regarded as the Oscars of the advertising world, are among the most prestigious creative honors globally, with thousands of campaigns submitted from around the world each year. Fewer than 20% of entries survive the judging process, making the Shortlist Award a recognition of world-class creative achievement.^[1]

Stone served as the songwriter, lead vocalist, and official brand ambassador of the entire campaign — writing and performing "We Golden" as the movement's anthem. The campaign was McDonald's largest African American-focused initiative in over 16 years, replacing the 365Black platform the brand had used since 2003. "We Golden" became the #1 rated commercial among African American audiences in over 16 years according to Nielsen ratings, with impactful lyrics including "Black & So Excellent," "Melanated We Shine," and "So Excellent & Divine."

The campaign debuted on March 30, 2019, during the 50th NAACP Image Awards on TV ONE, and aired nationally on BET and radio stations across the United States. Stone also performed the anthem live at the campaign's official launch event — Black & Positively Golden Day — at the YWCA in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, alongside multi-platinum recording artist Normani and actress/comedian Yvonne Orji.

The music production for "We Golden" was handled by Volition Sound, with Stone serving as the sole songwriter and vocalist. The campaign was submitted to the Clio Awards by Burrell Communications Group on behalf of McDonald's.

Stone partnered with McDonald's as the official ambassador for the Summer campaign, performing and producing the music for the commercial "Summer & Lovin'" — McDonald's $2.50 Double Cheeseburger and Small Fries promotion. The commercial premiered during the NBA Finals to an audience of over 20.4 million viewers and aired nationally on TV and radio across the United States.

Following the success of the Summer campaign, McDonald's extended Stone's involvement to their brand new All-day breakfast campaign and a revised Winter version of the $2.50 commercial, running through 2015 and 2016.

Stone made history in 2012 as a contestant on the Emmy Award-winning second season of NBC's The Voice, becoming the first MC and rapper in the show's history to compete on the program. Placed on Team Xtina under the coaching of legendary recording artist Christina Aguilera, Stone was also mentored by music icon Lionel Richie during the competition. He advanced to the first live shows before being eliminated, gaining national and international exposure seen by millions of viewers worldwide.

Following The Voice, Stone released his debut single "My Moment" and performed live on Showtime Championship Boxing for the nationally televised Lateef Kayode vs. Antonio Tarver fight at the Home Depot Center in California, performing in front of 18,800 live attendees.

As a songwriter and music producer, Stone's work has been placed on major television networks and programs including Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Bad Girls Club, My Super Sweet 16, MTV, and VH1. His production company ARTSKY has created music for the NFL, NBA, Oprah, the PGA Tour, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and Grammy-nominated artists.

Stone is also the founder of multiple companies including Art Sky Entertainment (record label), Art Sky Productions (music production and licensing), Art Sky Agency (creative digital agency), and Haughton Ventures Inc. (private equity venture firm). He is additionally the published author of Stumbling Into Entrepreneurship: Lessons For Success (2020).^[2]

Stone was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Prince George's County, Maryland, graduating from Laurel High School in 2004. He later relocated to Hollywood to attend the Musicians Institute, where he studied rock, pop, R&B, hip hop, jazz, funk, electronica, reggae, and more.

During his time in Los Angeles, Stone formed an indie/hip hop band called Every Thursday and secured an internship at Universal Music Group Distribution, where he quickly advanced to a project manager role overseeing teams working across Universal Records, Universal Music Gospel, Machete Music, Universal Music Latin, and Fontana Distribution.

He had early success under the name "Young Moses," winning first place competitions on BET's 106 & Park Wild Out Wednesday and MTV's Say What? Karaoke, and performing at the world-famous Showtime at the Apollo in New York City. He also opened for LeToya Luckett, former member of the Grammy Award-winning group Destiny's Child, at Hunter College in New York City.

• Young Moses (2004)
• Chapter 2 Through the Eyes of a Minor (2006)
• The Audition (2010)
• In My Dreams (2010)
• Resilient (2012)
• Soon You'll Understand (2016–2017)
• Warrior (2015)

• My Moment (2012)
• Young & Invincible feat. Lisa Scinta (2016)
• You Got It feat. Gabby Moe (2017)
• Big City (2017)
• Gone feat. Shwayze & Hero DeLano (2017)
• Still (2019)
• Come Alive (2019)
• We Golden (2019)
• Only One (2019)

Books

• Stumbling Into Entrepreneurship: Lessons For Success. The Mindset Needed to Become Your Own Boss (2020) ISBN 979-8631341203

• Official website
• Moses Stone at IMDb
• Clio Awards 2019 — Black And Positively Golden Shortlist Winner