From crafting hit songs to leading one of the music industry’s most storied labels, Epic Records’ newly appointed CEO/chairman is bringing a songwriter’s perspective to the future of artist development. Ezekiel Lewis joins Billboard On The Record host Kristin Robinson this week in his first-ever interview as the leader of Epic to discuss his career, from writing and producing hits like Justin Bieber’s “One Less Lonely Girl” to helming a label with some of the industry’s top talent, including Travis Scott, Future, 21 Savage, Tyla and Giveon. Lewis shares his perspective on A&R, how Epic Records signed Tyla and developed her into a global star and the importance of building trust between artists and their teams.
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Host:
Kristin Robinson
Executive Producers:
Diona DaCosta
Jade Watson
Produced By:
Kayla Forman
Mateo Vergara
Edited By:
Rachel Derbyshire
Kristin Robinson
Ezekiel Lewis, you are the chairman, CEO of Epic Records. You started up as a
hit maker yourself for Justin Bieber and Timbaland. Why did you ultimately wanna make the
switch to move more into business?
Ezekiel Lewis
Once I, you know, sort of got inside of a building, I realized that my songwriting career and the fact that I had achieved some success was is, was a miracle. Every artist needs a different thing.
Kristin Robinson
I mean, how do you navigate that? ‘Cause you don’t wanna offend an artist.
Ezekiel Lewis
You have to be invited. People like Future, who are well-established, might just want your
opinion on a thing. Travis Scott, another example, he’s a force of his own, but he asked me to help him get Tyla on a song, so I put Tyla on one of those records.
Kristin Robinson
Coming out of the pandemic, in the case of Tyla, could you still tell that she had the X factor through the screen?
Ezekiel Lewis
Absolutely.
Kristin Robinson
Why do you think that rap is kind of experiencing this downturn right now?
Ezekiel Lewis
It may have something to do with the pandemic era and the, and the one-offs, the TikToks, the over-investment upfront, uh, the inflated deals, but it’s a cyclical business. Things have ebbs and flows, and hip-hop will never die.
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