Meet Sheniqua
​Sheniqua Trotman was raised in a Guyanese American family where music was a way of life. It
was how people prayed, how they connected, how they comforted each other, and how they
celebrated. Her childhood was filled with gospel, quartets, soulful choir harmonies, 90s R and B,
rock, and the sound of her entire family singing. Her great-grandmother in Guyana was known
for her beautiful voice. Her mother was a choir director and trained pianist. Her father trained in
opera and led the men’s chorus at their church. Everyone around her sang, so singing felt as
natural as breathing.
By the time she was three she was singing solos in church. As she got older her parents would take her to nursing homes so she could sing for elders as part of her mother’s healing ministry. At ten, she knew her voice was a tool for healing because she could see the change in people’s faces after she sang. That early experience shaped the way she understood love, community, and the purpose of music.
Her sound is shaped by gospel, R and B, folk traditions, and the soul-filled artistry of singers like
India Arie, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Lalah Hathaway, Karen Carpenter, and Beyoncé. As an adult
she stepped fully into the practice of community singing, training with song leaders such as
Heather Houston, Lisa Littlebird, Aaron Johnson, and Shireen Amini. Every training reminded
her that singing in community is not just beautiful. It is liberating. It brings people back to
themselves.
A major turning point in her life came at the Affinity Belonging Camp hosted by her friend Hema
Ganapathy. Surrounded by deep care, love, and support from Aaron Johnson, Melanie Rios,
Grisha Stewart, and others, Sheniqua finally felt the kind of affirmation she always needed. She
realized she was meant to use her voice to guide others, to create healing spaces, and to help
people find their own courage and expression.
Sheniqua’s work is deeply shaped by her identity as a Black woman with a rich and complex
ancestry. Her lineage includes Indigenous Amerindian roots from Guyana, Native
Americanancestry, Black American ancestors who survived enslavement, and white ancestry
born from violence. She carries all of these stories inside her. She sings in honor of all of them.
Her grandmother, Virginia Lee Madden, was a Civil Rights activist who survived cross burnings
by the Ku Klux Klan in Greenville, South Carolina. When Sheniqua sings, she feels that fire, that
resilience, that history of fighting for dignity and joy.
Her song circles and vocal empowerment spaces take people on a full journey. Some moments
feel energetic and alive. Some moments feel soft and grounding. Some moments feel playful.
Some moments call in the ancestors. In every space people are reminded that even though we
come from different backgrounds, we share many of the same fears, hopes, and longings. Her
circles center belonging, healing, empowerment, and the truth that we need each other to make
it in this world.
For Sheniqua, vocal empowerment is both spiritual and activist work. It means remembering
that your voice is sacred and powerful. It means unlearning all the ways society has tried to
silence Black women. It means giving yourself permission to speak truth, release emotion, and
take up your full space. It means seeing the voice as a tool for freedom.
Through Elevated Expression, Sheniqua facilitates song circles, one-on-one vocal
empowerment sessions, Singing Soul Sessions, grief rituals, and intimate house concerts. Her
spaces feel different because she brings all of herself and all of her ancestors with her. Her
mission is to bring community singing back into Black communities as a healing practice that is
separate from the dogma many of us grew up with. She wants people to feel free. She wants
people to feel seen. She wants people to feel held.
Her original community song We Are In This Together has already begun traveling widely. It is an earworm, a prayer, and a reminder that none of us are meant to do life alone. In 2026 she will record her first full-length album, a project dedicated to ancestral healing, liberation, and the belief that every person carries medicine in their voice.
What breaks her heart most is how divided the world has become. What gives her hope is
watching people choose connection anyway. She knows that when people sing together they can feel their common humanity. They can feel the possibility of a new world. Singing helps us remember that we all want love, comfort, belonging, and a chance to breathe.