The late Nigerian Juju and Highlife musician, Iyun Ajilore, popularly known as Saint Janet, reportedly changed her musical style after discovering that songs with sexually explicit themes generated stronger reactions from audiences and brought the band more bookings and money.
Her longtime backup singer, Sunkanmi, popularly known as Suko, revealed this during an interview with Alejo TV on Tuesday.
Suko said he had known Saint Janet for more than 25 years and first met her when she was working as a backup singer for Nurse Kenge. At the time, he was a freelance drummer who worked with different artistes.
He later became part of Saint Janet’s band when she decided to pursue a solo career.
According to him, Saint Janet’s early music was a combination of Juju and gospel. The band reportedly rehearsed in a Celestial Church and eventually recorded its first project, but the music failed to gain the attention they expected.
Suko said the lack of public response was disappointing because Saint Janet had invested money in the recording.
As the band continued performing at weddings, bars and beer parlours, he said they noticed that audiences were not particularly receptive to the gospel songs.
This situation eventually led Saint Janet to experiment with a different form of entertainment. Suko explained that she began incorporating romantic and sexually suggestive situations involving people at social gatherings into her songs.
The new approach, he said, quickly became more commercially successful, with audiences responding more enthusiastically and spraying more money during performances.
Suko added that the change also brought the band more invitations to perform at clubs and bars.
He, however, clarified that Saint Janet did not completely abandon gospel music. According to him, she continued to receive inspiration for gospel songs even after her sexually themed style became popular.
He recalled one wedding where Saint Janet was performing gospel songs when the bride’s family requested that she perform the newer style instead.
Although the band expressed concern because children were present at the venue, the family reportedly insisted that there was no issue.
Suko said the audience’s reaction during the performance demonstrated how popular the new style had become, as guests began spraying money and the band earned more than it had while performing gospel songs.
He also claimed that the sexually explicit songs were sometimes requested at churches.
Suko said his long association with Saint Janet eventually developed into a close personal relationship, making it difficult for him to leave the band.
He said:
“I have known Saint Janet before she started singing. She used to be a backup singer for Nurse Kenge. I was a drummer then, so I worked with different people. When she decided to stand alone and create her own band, I decided to follow her.
“She started with gospel Juju.
“We used to do our rehearsal in a Celestial Church. She started as a Juju and gospel mixture. Our first studio recording was interesting, but people did not really listen to it. She spent money on that particular project and the cassette became dusty under her bed.
“She is someone who is hardworking a lot. Whether we were at a beer parlour performing or at a wedding, she was always working. When we went to bars, we did not really get the reception from the audience.
“So, she started and founded this explicit sexual style, like a pastor style, by using people at the event to preach in her song but romantically since it was a worldly setting.
“Look at this woman, Aunty Adunni, and her husband, Mr Lagbaja, look at how they are kissing. She used happenings in her song to create a form of entertainment. When she experimented with it, we got more money on stage.
“Then she started getting bookings as a result of that from the clubs or bars.
“Still, she did not backslide from gospel music. She still got inspiration to sing gospel songs.
“We once got to a wedding where she was singing gospel, but the bride’s family insisted that she sing the newly founded sound that resonated with people.
“We complained that kids were around, but they disagreed and said it was not a problem.
“When she started singing the song, people started spraying and we made more money than when she was singing gospel songs at the wedding.
“We have gotten to some churches where they said we should sing those explicit-rated 18 songs.
“I could not leave her band because we are close. We are now family.”
