Ezekiel Lewis

Ezekiel “Zeke” Lewis is an American record executive, songwriter, and producer. He is the current President of Epic Records and previously served as the Senior VP of A&R at Motown Records. He is also the founder of the music publishing company Bar Music Group and the songwriting and producing collective The Clutch.

Early life and education

Lewis grew up in Montgomery, Alabama. Lewis graduated from Morehouse College.

Career

Lewis signed with David Foster’s 143 Records as a musician after graduating from college. He served as a composer for Luther Vandross’s Grammy-winning album Dance with My Father, which was released in 2003.

In 2004, Lewis co-founded songwriting and production collective The Clutch, crafting songs for artists such as Mary J. Blige, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Omarion, Fantasia, Jennifer Lopez, Ciara, and Timbaland. Notable credits from this period include Mary J. Blige’s Grammy-winning 2005 classic The Breakthrough,.  "Freakshow" and “Radar” from Britney Spears' 2007 opus Blackout, and Justin Bieber's 2009 triple-platinum hit “One Less Lonely Girl.”

He worked closely with R&B singer Trey Songz, contributing to his first album I Gotta Make It in 2005.

Lewis founded the music publishing company Bar Music Group in 2010.

The company represents a number of artists, songwriters and producers including John “SK” McGee (Future, Trey Songz, Pusha T, Kevin Gates) and Najja McDowell (Trey Songz’ “2 Reasons” featuring T.I., “Simply Amazing” and “Dive In”). He started to climb the label ranks in 2011, when he was named Senior Vice President of A&R at Motown Records in 2011. While at Motown Records, he worked on music by artists such as Ne-Yo, Lil Yachty, and T.I.

With a knack for sniffing out hits and lifting great artists to new heights, in 2017, Lewis was appointed Executive Vice President of A&R at Epic Records. In this capacity, he worked on music with artists such as 21 Savage, the Black Eyed Peas, Future, and Meghan Trainor. He also contributed to Mariah Carey’s 2018 album Caution. He did production work on Kevin Hart’s Grammy-nominated 2018 comedy album What Now?

Lewis also spearheaded major comebacks for the Black Eyed Peas and Meghan Trainor. The exec helped guide Black Eyed Peas on their 2020 album Translation, which included the smash hits “Ritmo (Bad Boys for Life)” and “Mamacita.” which were included in Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart.

Additionally, he shaped Meghan Trainor’s 2022 album Takin’ It Back, which produced the viral smash "Made You Look." During this period, he also A&R'd Giveon’s 2022 album Give or Take.

In 2023, Lewis was appointed President of Epic Records, shepherding the likes of rising pop stars Madison Beer and Zara Larsson to massive success. He was also named to Billboard’s Power 100 List and was honored at the Creative Community for Peace’s fifth annual Ambassadors for Peace event. The accolades continued in 2024, Lewis being named Billboard Executive of the Week for his work on Tyla’s song “Water.”

Select Discography

References