Features
Cara Lewis Exits WME
Cara Lewis, probably the one agent in the industry most synonymous with hip-hop and rap, has left her home of more than two decades, William Morris Endeavor.
Why Lewis divorced her employer is speculation, but December is the most wonderful time of the year, when agencies renew employee contracts and determine if their staff deserves raises.
It’s quite possible that Lewis didn’t get a favorable contract renewal, and sources tell Pollstar it was WME that decided to not type up a new one. Maybe things would have been different if one of her many profitable clients, Eminem, had decided 2011 was a touring year and WME benefited from the sizeable cash flow.
Lewis got her start answering phones at Norby Walters Agency, but she has been associated with hip-hop from the very early days and has had a longtime association with impresario Russell Simmons. Back when N.W.A. was breaking, it was Lewis who put the gangsta rappers on a bill with M.C. Hammer.
“Not that Easy-E, N.W.A. and Hammer should have been packaged together in the first place, but there was such a demand that it worked,” Lewis told Pollstar in 1998. “I represented a lot of big stars in the early days to headline stages. Most of them are still with me.”
Lewis’ name recently popped up in the mainstream media when a WME assistant named Marcus Washington sent out a kiss-off email to the company and it found its way outside the office. The young man didn’t have very nice things to say about his coworkers – except for Cara.
“Thank you Cara Lewis for giving me an opportunity to assist for you after being in the mailroom for only a few days … there’s a reason why you are one of the best agents in this business. Your work ethic is inspiring and I wish other agents would take note. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
Sources say Lewis is heading over to the New York office of CAA. It’s too early to determine which artists will be heading with her, but her roster included the likes of Kid Cudi, Tinie Tempah, Erykah Badu, Pitbull and The Roots. The list does not include Kanye West because apparently he ended his relationship with the agent but not with WME.
CAA was silent on the matter.
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