The late Nigerian Juju musician, Janet Omotoyosi Ajilore, popularly known as Saint Janet, switched from gospel-infused Juju to sexually explicit songs after discovering that the controversial style attracted bigger audiences, more bookings and more money, according to her longtime backup singer, Sunkanmi, popularly known as Suko.
Suko made the revelation during an interview with Alejo TV, where he recalled his more than 25-year relationship with the singer and explained how her musical career evolved.
According to him, Saint Janet started her independent career with a mixture of Juju and gospel music, with the band rehearsing at a Celestial Church.
He said their first studio recording failed to attract the expected audience despite the money and effort invested in the project.
Suko said Saint Janet remained committed to performing and took the band to weddings, bars, beer parlours and other social events, but the gospel material did not generate the reaction they expected.
That, he said, eventually pushed the singer to experiment with a different approach.
Suko explained that Saint Janet began using events and people around her as material for her songs, particularly romantic situations and interactions between couples.
The new style, which incorporated sexually suggestive and explicit themes, quickly changed the band’s fortunes.
According to Suko, audiences became more responsive, while money spraying and bookings increased.
He recalled a wedding where Saint Janet was initially performing gospel songs before members of the bride’s family asked her to perform her newer material.
Although the band reportedly objected because children were present, the family insisted.
Suko said the reaction was immediate.
“When she started singing the song, people started spraying and we made more money than when she was singing gospel songs at the wedding,” he said.
The development, he added, led to more invitations from clubs, bars and other social gatherings.
Saint Janet’s unusual fusion of gospel performance techniques with erotic themes has previously attracted scholarly attention. Researchers have described her music as a hybrid form of Juju-gospel performance in which familiar religious and traditional musical structures were sometimes reconstructed with sexually explicit lyrics.
Despite the transformation, Suko said Saint Janet never completely abandoned gospel music.
“She still got inspiration to sing gospel songs,” he said.
The claim also echoes an earlier interview in which Saint Janet herself acknowledged that she sang gospel music while explaining that audiences particularly requested her explicit songs at private parties and clubs.
Suko also spoke about his relationship with the singer and recalled what he described as her final performance.
He said Saint Janet acknowledged his long service to her band, telling those around her to appreciate his support. She later gave him her wristwatch and sprayed money on him.
Suko said he did not realise at the time that the gesture could have been a final farewell.
The comments come as Saint Janet’s family continues to recount the events surrounding her death.
Her daughter, Omowunmi, said the singer had performed at an overnight show in Sango, Ogun State, before returning home.
She reportedly went to the market the following day and returned home around 6pm.
Omowunmi said she later noticed her mother holding her chest and struggling to breathe.
Saint Janet was taken to hospital and placed on oxygen, but her son, Orinayo, said medical personnel later discovered that she had lost her pulse.
The singer’s career remains notable for the way she combined religious imagery, traditional Juju performance and provocative entertainment, making her one of the more unconventional female voices in Nigeria’s popular music scene.
