VOICING WHILE BLACK: Meet Keyon Williams, Transformer
The latest in CASSIUSLife.com’s VOICING WHILE BLACK series is an interview with Keyon Williams, a professional voice actor with a deep well of knowledge, experience and insight.
How long have you worked in production/TV editing?
My professional career started back in 2005, but I’d been working as a DJ and under-21 promoter since I was a teenager. At 13, my mother invested in me and bought me my first pair of turntables, loaned me $325 to rent out a hall so that I could throw my first under-21 party event, which was a success. I paid her back at the end of the night. Simultaneously, a couple of friends from school and I decided to start a DJ crew. We all became box boys for one of the biggest traveling sound systems on the East Coast at the time. Our job was to unload speaker boxes and help set up for major concerts, parties, and special events up and down the East Coast. That’s where I learned the art of rocking for large-scale crowds, which I applied in my own DJ journey and under-21 events. That and school were the foundation that led to me being hired by Radio One to be a network producer/on-air talent. In that role, my job was to produce and edit nationally syndicated network programming, voice/edit promos, radio commercials, and imaging for the station. Then I switched over to editing video around 2009. So this year marks 29 years that I’ve been working in the industry.
How long have you been voicing?
Since 2004—but I started out mimicking everything I heard on TV and radio when I was a kid. My parents bought me my first mic when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I’ve been professionally voicing ever since my second radio internship with Radio One back in about 2004. I first got my crack at the on-air microphone during a Friday night show on Hot 97 in Boston called Hood Hour with Megatron and DJ Dru Nyce. They frequently let me come into the studio and would include me in talk set breaks.
At that time, Megatron was traveling weekly between Hot 97 in Boston and Hot 97 in New York. I vividly remember him telling me, “I’m gonna teach you what I learned from the legends, Fatman Scoop, Funk Flex, and Kool DJ Red Alert.” He said, “They are the greats, and I learned from them, and I want you to be great as well. So let’s start with the basics of mic mechanics and having a conversation with the audience. Treat it as if you’re talking one-on-one with a friend.”
There are many times present-day when I’m in the booth recording, and those early lessons cross my mind. Fast forward to my second internship, I knew that I loved the idea of voicing commercials and being on-air, and I had a laser-focused plan to get there. I went to the account executives for the station and said, “Hey, can I help you by creating spec commercial spots for potential clients? I’ll write, produce, edit, and voice the commercial for you, then you can go out into the field with a product already in hand of what it will sound like if they purchase commercial advertising time slots with the station.”
Needless to say, that worked, and to my surprise, clients started requesting that the station run the ads with the same voice from the spec spot, which happened to be my voice. So I would be in class at school, and I’d get emails and texts from the station saying, “Hey, what time are you coming in? We need you to get a commercial out the door.” And that’s how I got my first official job in radio.
“I absolutely love to voice projects that celebrate and highlight excellence while making an impact.”
How did working in post open up the possibility of VO—or was it DJing that did that?
I always say that DJing was the building block to the whole VO and post game for me. After my stint in radio ended, I worked hard to try and land a gig in television. I took a couple of trips out to New York to pitch a concept for a show that I had developed. After the meetings, I would go down to the Viacom building in Times Square and hand out manila envelopes with my radio aircheck and production CD reel, along with my resume (pics attached), to anyone who looked like they were someone. I even went in the building, asked security if they could hand my package off to someone in the mailroom so that they could drop it off at Human Resources. I was desperate to succeed and was willing to go the extra mile.
Those pitch meetings led to me getting an offer to work at BET Networks. Growing up, BET was a staple in my household, and I always dreamed of being one of the voices of BET. So it was a pinch-me kind of aha moment when I started working there as a production assistant. I remember being amazed at the sheer scale of the operation in comparison to what I was used to in radio. After I got somewhat settled in my role, I started to pitch myself as a voiceover artist and would ask different show producers if they needed someone to do scratch (placeholder) VO for show packages. In some cases, that led to them eventually using my voice in the final show. Those instances allowed me to put a small TV reel together.
Which came first: radio imaging or animation?
Radio imaging came before animation.
How do these differ in terms of skill set?
There are some similarities, but the two possess vastly different pillars. For example, things in radio tend to be big and in-your-face theater of the mind in many instances. Lots of the commercials that I voice for Power 105 and various iHeart Radio stations tend to skew in that lane. Sometimes you have to read a lot of copy in a short amount of time, so I have to decide what words I’m going to color while giving acceleration to certain lines to stay in the timing window. Animation is all about the performance and conveying the feeling and emotion. One of the things that I struggled with a lot early in my VO career was really learning how to dial back on that big radio voice and bring more of myself to the performance. When I was cast to be “Boulder” in the animated series Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy, one of the main points that I learned was that we’re performing for a program where the target audience was children, so enunciation was paramount. I had to slow down, scale back, and dig deep to bring out the true essence of what it meant to be Professor Boulder. One of my secrets was to practice my lines with my daughter, who was 6 at the time. There were times when I dug into my VO arsenal and incorporated that radio imaging voice when I would say, “Rescue bots, it’s time to roll out!”
How did/do you train to be a voice actor? Describe your timeline/regimen.
One of the biggest gems I received was from my mentor, Thembisa Mshaka. She may not remember this, but she said, “Key, have you thought about doing some more training? I think that would help you immensely; it should be a part of your regimen.” At the point in my VO career, the last training I had taken was in college when I took some voice and articulation classes. I had developed this on-air DJ sound, which I was successful with in the beginning. I was voicing promos and shows for BET, including staples like 106 & Park. I even booked to be the voice of MTV2’s Sucka Free Awards.
However, after that, I hit a slump from 2010 to about 2013. I went on probably well over 100 auditions all over New York, but I wasn’t booking anything. I finally decided to take Thembisa’s advice, I saved some coins, and invested in training. I did an intensive promo/commercial training and booked TV One the very next week. Then I did another coaching intensive and I booked something right after that. Through coaching and training, my range really started to develop, and I started booking with a wide range of clients. However, I still brought that inner DJ out from time to time. Notably for VH1 Hip Hop Honors, when I played a DJ voice role and for WeTv’s Hip Hop Thursdays. The spec for the initial audition was someone who had a Busta Rhymes vibe. For that sound, I dug deep back to my experience in dancehall and Hip-Hop clubs. The voice was a blend of those experiences and style. Even down to my mannerisms while recording in the booth, all of which added to the creation of that sound for Hip Hop Thursdays on WeTv. Coaching and training remain a part of my regimen even to this day.
What’s your favorite part of the process of voicing?
My favorite part of the process of voicing is, believe it or not, the audition process. I never know what’s going to come across my desk. I could be auditioning to be a Martin Luther King Jr. sound-alike or trying out for a big NBA campaign. Booking the audition is definitely the icing on the cake.
Talk about being union vs non-union. If you joined, how did things change for you once you joined the union? If not, is securing work harder as a non-union actor—and if so, in what ways?
Well, I’ve been a member of the union since my first job as a network producer/on-air talent. However, I suspended my membership from 2007 until I booked a national spot for USBank in 2014. At that point, I could no longer voice for some of the clients that I had been working with. I remember being upset about that, but it forced me to hone in on the craft more and level up, because the opportunities were fewer with higher stakes. You’re in the major leagues once you go union. I remember being in casting calls, sitting across from some of my favorite actors and thinking to myself, “Damn, I can’t believe we are trying out for the same role.”
How concerned are you about AI replacing human voice actors?
AI replacing voices and replacing living, breathing human actors is highly concerning to me. I worked hard for years to perfect my craft. My voice comes from my soul, and to steal that just to cut costs is not right. I think the craft is sacred and should be treated as such. Rather than using AI to get rid of us, we should figure out how to use AI to help the overall process while not trying to rob and cheat hardworking actors who share their art with the world.
What’s your pro tip for transitioning from one aspect of production into VO?
One pro tip that I have is to put it in the atmosphere. Utilize your contacts, ask questions, and be prepared to invest in yourself. My recommendation is to get a good coach or jump into some training sessions. Invest in going to conferences such as That’s Voiceover by SOVAS (Society for Voice Arts And Sciences), and VO Atlanta. Remember that the work is auditioning; booking is a plus.
Is there something distinct for you as a Black voice actor that you’ve come to appreciate/embrace over the course of your career?
I absolutely love to voice projects that celebrate and highlight excellence while making an impact. This week, I had the honor of being invited again to voice for the 2025 NAACP Image Awards Pre-Show. Some other standouts include being the voice of the BET Awards Pre-Show for the last several years, the Soul Train Awards, Getty Images HBCUs collection, which aired during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, and of course, voicing “Boulder” in Transformers Rescue Bots Academy.
What’s the best coaching you’ve ever gotten?
Some of the best coaching I’ve received was from the VO duo, Eileen Schellhorn and Diana Lote. They taught me that if you were selected for an audition, you need to show up as yourself and not what you think casting wants you to be. Once you do that, then you can season the pot and make it yours. Also, Judy Keller helped me with discovering my range, which helped me get out of the box. Lauren Gold, who was my voice director on Transformers: Rescue Bots Academy, spent a lot of time during the off-season helping me with animation character development and has been a great animation acting coach for me over the years.
Talk about the value of mentoring as a Black actor and the importance of Black mentors.
It’s extremely important for Black actors who have had some success in elevated spaces to mentor those who have proven that they want to make an impact in whatever they are pursuing. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today in the VO game if it hadn’t been for the sponsorship and mentorship of Thembisa Mshaka. I was so nervous when I knocked on her door. In my mind, Thembisa had worked with all of the legends; there’s no way she’s going to give me the time of day. Man, was I wrong! I remember Thembisa welcoming me with open arms and asking if I had a reel. At the time, I only had my radio reel and the two or three shows that I had voiced packages for since I had been there. She listened to my work and said, “Yo, you sound good, playa! I think there’s something here.” I couldn’t believe it! The rest is history. She gave me my first shot at voicing for a major television network.
