Sunkanmi aka Suko, longtime backup singer of late Juju singer, Saint Janet disclosed how the deceased transitioned from gospel music to explicit songs
Suko, who said he had known Saint Janet for more than 25 years, recalled meeting her when she was still a backup singer for Nurse Kenge.
At the time, he was working as a freelance drummer before eventually joining Saint Janet when she decided to establish her own band.
He explained that Saint Janet initially built her career around a combination of Juju and gospel music, with the band holding rehearsals at a Celestial Church. However, their first studio project failed to attract much attention despite the money spent on it.
As the singer continued performing at weddings, bars and beer parlours, Suko said they noticed that audiences were not responding strongly to her gospel songs.
This prompted Saint Janet to experiment with a different style centred on romantic and sexually explicit themes, using people and situations at social gatherings as material for her performances.
According to Suko, the new approach quickly proved successful. The band began making more money through stage performances and subsequently received more bookings from clubs and bars.
He also stressed that Saint Janet did not completely abandon gospel music after embracing the new sound. She continued recording and performing gospel songs whenever she felt inspired to do so.
Suko recalled one wedding where the singer was performing gospel music before the bride’s family requested that she switch to the newer style that had become popular among audiences.
Although the band initially objected because children were present, the family insisted that there was no problem with the performance.
Suko said the reaction from the crowd confirmed the commercial success of the new style, as guests began spraying money and the band earned more than it had while performing gospel songs.
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.”
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