Dr. Sonja Elise Freeman has a Five-Octave Voice, a Legend’s Songbook, and Encourages the Talk Nobody Wants to Have
Phyllis Hyman was scheduled to perform at the Apollo Theater on June 30, 1995. She died by suicide that afternoon, hours before the show. She was 45 years young. Her career ran from jazz rooms to Broadway, where “Sophisticated Ladies” earned her a Tony nomination, and her contralto — the lowest female voice in classical music — still sets the bar for the soul singers who came after.
Thirty-one years later, a five-octave vocalist named Dr. Sonja Elise Freeman walks into a Broadway supper club to sing Hyman’s catalog and bring light to mental illness. Freeman professionally performs as Queen Diva. Her tribute, “Strength of a Woman,” runs Sept. 12 at 54 Below in New York City, intentionally timed to coincide with Suicide Prevention Month.
“People don’t understand that she died from the pain of mental illness,” Queen Diva said.
During performances, Queen Diva stops between numbers to name the elephant in the room — Hyman lived with bipolar disorder and depression — then points the room toward help. She is a longtime advocate and partners with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and she keeps the register deliberate. “I do it in a way where it’s educational, yet it’s entertaining,” she said. “I share information and encourage my audience to receive where it’s not somber.”
The talk nobody wants
For Queen Diva, the mission hits close to home. She started asking questions while researching for her show and learned that relatives in her family had attempted or died by suicide, including an uncle who came home from Vietnam and could not settle back into American life. “This is very personal for me,” she said.
Conversation about mental health echoes like a loud silence. “It’s not talked about in the Black community. It’s not talked about enough,” she said, and she extends that to the people she works with. Musicians carry it too, often alone.
A 2019 study of nearly 1,500 independent artists found 73% reported symptoms of mental illness — stress, anxiety and depression — tied directly to their work. —
Record Union (Swedish digital music distribution platform).
Her answer sidesteps the either/or that many of faith-first audiences expect. “Prayer is a beautiful thing, but God also blessed psychologists and psychotherapists for a reason,” she said. The show honors the music first and lets the message ride underneath. “Let’s not dwell on how she left this world,” she said. “Let’s think about the beautiful music that she left for us.”
The record worth saving
Queen Diva founded Divine Voices Media in Houston in 2004 and was among the early wave of podcasters in 2006. She has served as 2026 Global Brand Ambassador, Vice President and Artist-in-Residence for the Rhythm and Blues Preservation Society for the last six years. The RBPOC is a 501(c)(3) founded by Mr. Perry “The Maestro” Thompson, with a mission to preserve Black music culture one record at a time. As Chief Curriculum Officer, she also develops all of the society’s K-12 and college curricula, sculpting music and culture into lesson plans and video screenings for classrooms, colleges, universities, and public libraries.
The RBPOC’s reach travels further than the stage. Queen Diva, via Divine Voices Media, produced a video spotlighting blind and visually impaired jazz musicians, a subject she says no one had documented before. She says it moved through the commissions for the blind in New Jersey, Maryland and Texas and into more than a dozen schools, packaged with a discussion guide and a certificate. February 2026, Divine Voices also produced 250 Years of Black Voices in America during the 100th Anniversary of Black History Month.
In May, she launched the Living Black Music Preservation Archive (LBMPA), a weekly newsletter. It carries about 475 subscribers — music lovers, musicians, even university presidents — and drops every Tuesday. Anyone who keeps a playlist or an old church-choir program, she says, is already a Living BMP Archivist. She frames the stakes plainly. Black History Month turns 100 this year, and the country is marking 250 years of Black musicians’ contributions to American music, even as federal budgets for Black history programs get cut. “As long as Black people live in America, it’s not gonna die,” she said. “No matter how they try to erase it, we’ll still have the story.”
Sept. 12 at 54 Below
Queen Diva has not performed in New York City since 2019, and is very excited about her return to Broadway. This is the only Phyllis Hyman tribute the Hyman family, friends, and Phyllis Hyman “Phans” have approved. “Strength of a Woman” moves through Hyman’s catalog — the “Sophisticated Ladies” material, “You Know How to Love Me,” “Old Friend,” and a “By Request Only Medley” that is sure to please Phyllis Hyman’s true phans. See the performance in person at 9:30 p.m. or via live stream at 9:45 p.m. ET.
“I am looking forward to returning to the stage and having an intimate and loving moment with all who will attend. If you love Phyllis Hyman you will love this show. It is very interactive and all is welcome to sing-a-long and feel the love that is always present.” – Queen Diva
Two time sensitive asks come for the night: a music sponsor to cover the pianist and audio recording for the evening, and a product sponsor for merchandise, with 10% of sales routed back to the Rhythm and Blues Preservation Society as the evening fundraiser. Reach out immediately to sef@divinevoicesmedia.com or through West Ward Beans if you can move on either.
For her, the invitation and the mission are the same errand. “If you are battling with this, talk to someone,” she said. “Release it, so you can be at peace and continue to enjoy this beautiful world and live the life that awaits you.”
Tickets for Sept. 12th — in the room 54Below.org/QueenDiva use the code DIVA5 and receive $5 off your ticket, and Group Sales are available 10% off with 10 people or more, contact Sandra Bowers at sbowers@54below.org, or by livestream — at 54below.org/QueenDivaLive
*There is a $25 food and drink minimum
If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 — call or text 988.
