Bellarmine News
Bellarmine’s 'raccoon guy,' senior Guy Williams, releases album
March 6, 2019

Guy Williams, a senior communication major, recently released his debut album, “Simmer Down.” Though Williams is best known on campus as the “raccoon guy,” for a famous raccoon-stealing-a-phone video that went viral back in late 2016, he
is also becoming increasingly known for his musical talents. “I’ve been writing music
since middle school, and even when I was at school here I’ve been writing music,”
Williams said. “Coming into winter break, I had six songs written and I decided to
go into the studio for about four to five hours a day and just knocked it out,” Williams
said. “The album is different. It has a lot of different sounds, different elements,
and I just try to mix it up.” The album features Williams' unique style of rap music.
He said the album’s title originates from the tempo of his songs. “For me there are
slower songs and not that many songs that are cranked up or hyped,” Williams said.
“I’m
writing about real things that mean something to me, so just simmer down.” Williams
said he plays a variety of instruments, including the ukulele, to help him compose.
He said he likes to write music when he is feeling happy, sad or upset, using these
emotions as an outlet to create his musical content. Sadly, Stanley the raccoon did
not have any influence in the making of this album, but the past popularity with the
infamous raccoon did help Williams in releasing his music through his social media
accounts. “What the raccoon video did for my social
media platforms has helped this album a lot," he said. "Having that following on Twitter
now has definitely helped me push content." The raccoon video earned Williams -- and
indirectly, Bellarmine -- plenty of retweets and exposure everywhere from Insider Louisville to Buzzfeed, Time,
HuffPost and The Mirror in
London.
Williams will continue to create music back in his hometown in Elizabethtown, Ky.
He was planning to work on a single recording during spring break. He also plans to
continue studying at Bellarmine, where he will pursue a master’s degree in communication.
Williams will graduate from the undergraduate program in May.
Find Williams’ album under the name G-Willi on various sources like Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and Google
Play.
Article by Daniel Spitza, intern in Bellarmine's Office of Marketing and Communications.