Epic Records A&R chief Ezekiel Lewis has bolstered his team with the promotion of Jermaine Pegues to VP of A&R and two new hires.

Having started as a Pop promotion intern in 2013, Pegues had been Director of A&R since 2018.

Patrick Afeku, Senior Director of A&R, and Kailen Tharpe, Associate Director of A&R, are new to Epic. Afeku was previously Head of A&R at Generation Now, spearheading projects for the likes of Lil Uzi Vert and Jack Harlow. He has also managed the multiplatinum Playboi Carti at The Certified Management Group since 2012. Tharpe has worked in A&R at Atlantic Records and OTF.

Lewis said of the trio, “Jermaine has grown immensely over the past eight years at the label and emerged as a savvy and sharp A&R executive. At the same time, Patrick and Kailen have proven themselves as tastemakers and industry visionaries in their respective lanes.”