When news broke on August 2, 2026, that veteran Juju and Highlife singer Omotoyosi Kayode Iyun Ajilore, popularly known as St. Janet, had died after a brief illness, many Nigerians remembered her for one thing: she was the woman whose songs regularly sparked controversy.
To some, she was fearless. To others, she went too far. But whether people loved or disliked her music, there was little disagreement about one thing… St. Janet built a career unlike anyone else’s.
For more than two decades, she entertained audiences with a style that mixed Juju, Highlife, Fuji and Tungba music with humour, satire and lyrics many considered too explicit for public consumption. Her performances attracted loyal fans, earned her invitations to high-profile parties across Nigeria and abroad, and also brought criticism from religious groups, music bodies and cultural conservatives.
She was proudly called “Mama Yabis” by many of her admirers and jokingly introduced herself as the General Overseer of Saint Bottles Cathedral, a fictional church whose “members” gathered not for Sunday service but for music, dancing and celebration.
Yet long before she became one of the most controversial names in Yoruba music, St. Janet was simply a church chorister.
She grew up singing hymns in the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, where few could have imagined that the quiet young woman would one day become famous for songs that challenged social norms and pushed conversations about sex, morality and artistic freedom into the open.
Her journey from church choir to Juju stardom remains one of the most unusual stories in Nigerian entertainment.
The News That Brought Back Memories
News of St. Janet’s death surfaced on Sunday, August 2, after publisher and socialite Otunba Femi Davies announced that the singer had passed away the previous day following a brief illness. The announcement was later reported by several media organisations, prompting tributes from colleagues, fans and lovers of Yoruba music who remembered her as an energetic performer with a style that was impossible to mistake.
For many younger Nigerians, the news introduced them to an artiste they had only heard about in passing. But for those who grew up in the late 2000s and early 2010s, especially in Southwest Nigeria, St. Janet was a familiar name.
Her CDs circulated in neighbourhood markets. Her songs played at parties. Her live performances became talking points. Even people who claimed they never listened to her music often knew exactly who she was. That was the kind of impact she had.
Unlike many artistes who depended on radio stations to build their careers, St. Janet’s popularity grew largely through live performances and word of mouth. She became a regular face at owambes, birthday celebrations, club events and social gatherings where audiences appreciated her energetic delivery and playful interaction with guests.
By the time streaming platforms began changing the music business, she had already built a loyal fan base that followed her wherever she performed.
Growing Up in a White Garment Church
St. Janet was born Omotoyosi Kayode Iyun Ajilore in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
She was raised in a Christian home and spent much of her early life in the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church, where she served as a chorister.
Like many children in white garment churches, she learned to sing during worship services, where hymns, call-and-response choruses and rich vocal harmonies formed an important part of religious life. Those years shaped her voice.
Even after she became known for singing secular music, listeners could still hear traces of her church background in the way she delivered songs. She often sang with the projection and emotional intensity associated with Aladura worship, something that later became one of her trademarks. Interestingly, she never completely left those influences behind.
At many of her live performances, St. Janet would begin with praise and worship songs before introducing herself to the audience. She often thanked God for giving her the gift of music before moving into the songs that made her famous. It was a routine that surprised first-time listeners.
The same woman who opened with worship would later spend the rest of the performance singing about relationships, sex, marriage and everyday life in a language that many considered shocking. That contrast became one of the defining features of her career.
The Teenager Who Found Her Way Into Juju Music
St. Janet’s journey into professional music started much earlier than many people realised. At about 15 years old, she joined the band of Juju musician Los Kenge as a backing vocalist in Abeokuta.
The experience became her first real music training. For about three years, she travelled with the band, performed at live events and learned the discipline that came with entertaining audiences. It also exposed her to the realities of the Juju music scene, where live performances mattered far more than studio recordings.
Looking back years later, St. Janet credited those years with shaping her career. Los Kenge also gave her something she would carry for the rest of her life, which is her stage name.
Away from the stage, Janet was known for being quiet and reserved. According to her, her boss would often joke with people who tried to disturb her, saying, “Leave my saint alone.” The nickname caught on among members of the band. When she eventually decided to start her own career, she adopted it professionally. That was how “Saint Janet” was born.
Ironically, a nickname inspired by her calm personality would later become one of the most recognisable names in Yoruba entertainment.
From Backing Vocalist to Band Leader
After spending about three years with Los Kenge, St. Janet decided it was time to build her own identity. Like many Juju artistes before her, she formed her own band and began performing independently across Ogun and Lagos states. The transition was not easy.
The Juju industry was already dominated by established names, and female performers were far fewer than their male counterparts. Breaking through required more than just a good voice.
She needed something that would make audiences remember her. In the years that followed, she found exactly that. Instead of following the traditional formula that made many Juju singers popular, St. Janet created a style that immediately stood out.
She blended the church-inspired vocal delivery she grew up with, the live instrumentation of Juju and Highlife, elements of Fuji and Tungba, and added humour, satire and bold adult themes that few female artistes were willing to explore publicly.
It was a risky decision. But it changed her life and the course of her career. By the time St. Janet began performing with her own band, she had realised that talent alone would not be enough to stand out in a crowded Juju music industry. She needed an identity and she found it by doing what many artistes avoided.
Creating a Style That Nobody Could Ignore
While many Juju musicians built their songs around praise-singing, social commentary and celebrations, St. Janet decided to push the boundaries.
She blended Juju, Highlife, Fuji and Tungba rhythms with comedy, satire and sexually explicit Yoruba lyrics that immediately set her apart. What made her style even more unusual was how she presented it.
A typical St. Janet performance rarely began with the kind of music people expected from her. Instead, she often started with slow praise and worship, singing Christian choruses and thanking God for the gift of music before greeting her audience.
Only after that introduction would the tempo change. The drums would become louder and the guitars would pick up. Then St. Janet would introduce herself as the General Overseer of Saint Bottles Cathedral—sometimes referring to it as Sinners’ Chapel—before launching into songs that left first-time listeners stunned.
She knew the contrast was striking and that was the point.
Her church upbringing remained part of her identity, but she refused to let it dictate the kind of music she made.
‘Faaji Plus’ Turned Her Into a Household Name
For years, St. Janet had built her reputation through live performances. Then came 2013. That year, she released Faaji Plus, a live-recorded audio CD that would change her career. The project quickly became one of the most talked-about releases in Southwest Nigeria.
Unlike conventional studio albums, Faaji Plus captured the atmosphere of a live performance. It featured extended medleys, crowd interactions and nonstop Juju rhythms. But what got everyone talking were the lyrics. They were direct, humorous and napologetically explicit.
The CD spread rapidly through music shops, roadside vendors and neighbourhood markets across Lagos and other parts of the Southwest. It was the kind of project people copied onto memory cards and exchanged with friends long before streaming became the norm.
Almost overnight, St. Janet became one of the most recognisable female names in Yoruba party music. The attention came with criticism. But it also brought fame.
The Controversy That Worked in Her Favour
As Faaji Plus gained popularity, complaints about its content also grew. Many listeners believed the lyrics were too explicit for public consumption.
Reports at the time said the album faced restrictions from music bodies, including the Music Advertising Association of Nigeria (MAAN) and the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN). Discussions about the content of her songs also found their way into the Lagos State House of Assembly, where concerns were raised over what many regarded as indecent lyrics.
For many artistes, such controversy could have ended a promising career. For St. Janet, it had the opposite effect. The more people talked about her music, the more curious others became. People who had never heard her songs wanted to know what the fuss was about. Those who could not hear her on radio simply attended her live performances instead.
In later interviews, she even pointed out the irony of the situation. According to her, some of the same people who criticised her publicly would privately invite her to perform at their parties.
The controversy gave her free publicity, and instead of disappearing, she became even more popular.
“What Have I Done Wrong?”
As criticism intensified, St. Janet never tried to reinvent herself to please everyone. She defended her music instead. One of her most memorable interviews came when she was asked why she relied so heavily on sexually explicit lyrics.
Her response to ThisDay became one of the defining statements of her career.
“In my music, I’ve not said anything that has not been said before by the likes of Sir Shina Peters, Obesere and King Sunny Ade. The entire Hip-Hop generation of today is about sex. So what have I done wrong? Is it because I am a woman?”
She argued that male musicians had used sexual innuendos in their songs for decades without attracting the same level of criticism. According to her, society judged female artistes differently. She expanded on that argument by saying:
“Women are the ones who are used as mere toys for sexual appeasement of the male in many musical videos. Why does anyone not see anything wrong in that? I’m fighting for women.”
It was a position she maintained throughout her career. She insisted that vulgarity in music did not begin with her and questioned why she had become the face of a debate that had existed long before she arrived on the scene.
Whether people agreed with her or not, the interview changed how some listeners viewed her. Instead of seeing her as someone who sang explicit songs simply for attention, they began to understand that she also believed she was challenging what she considered a double standard in the entertainment industry.
More Than Sex, There Was Satire
One reason St. Janet’s music lasted beyond the initial controversy was that it was not built solely around explicit language. There was humour, storytelling and exaggeration.
She sang about relationships, infidelity, neighbourhood gossip, marriage, body image and everyday experiences in a way that connected with her audience. Some songs celebrated women with curvy figures. Others joked about herbal aphrodisiacs and bedroom performance.
In another, she told the story of Iya Lai, a neighbourhood adulteress, using a parody of the popular Christian song “He’s Alive, Amen.” It was this combination of comedy, satire and social commentary that kept audiences entertained.
People did not attend her performances simply because the lyrics were controversial. They came because she knew how to tell stories. And she told them in a way that made people laugh, dance and, sometimes, argue all at once.
‘Mama Yabis’ and the Street Appeal
Another nickname that followed St. Janet throughout her career was “Mama Yabis.” The title reflected the kind of music she became known for.
Her songs were filled with gossip, playful insults, relationship drama and humorous observations about everyday life.
She sang about neighbours, marriages, infidelity and things many people discussed privately but rarely heard in songs delivered so openly by a female artiste.
She Never Stopped Saying She Was a Christian
Perhaps the biggest contradiction in St. Janet’s life was one she never tried to explain away. Despite building a career around sexually explicit music, she consistently maintained that she remained a Christian.
In interviews, she spoke openly about her upbringing in the Cherubim and Seraphim Church and never denied the influence it had on her life. That influence was visible every time she performed.
Before launching into her high-energy party songs, she usually opened with Christian choruses and praise sessions, thanking God before greeting her audience.
To some people, the contrast made no sense. To St. Janet, it did. She believed the talent she used on stage came from God, even if many people disagreed with how she chose to express it.
Life Away From the Spotlight
Away from the stage, St. Janet lived a far quieter life than many people imagined. She was reportedly married to Kayode Iyun, a musician and sound engineer who supported her career and occasionally worked with her during performances.
Unlike many entertainers, she rarely put her private life on display. She also pursued education alongside music, earning a Professional Diploma in Mass Communication from Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta.
Her Final Days
On Saturday, August 1, 2026, St. Janet reportedly died after a brief illness. News of her passing became public the following day after publisher and socialite Otunba Femi Davies announced it on Facebook.
Her death marked the end of a career that had stretched from church choirs in Abeokuta to stages across Nigeria and the diaspora.
Omotoyosi Kayode Iyun Ajilore, the quiet girl who started as a chorister in a Cherubim and Seraphim church before becoming the outspoken St. Janet, leaves behind a story that is as unusual as it is unforgettable.
In Nigerian music, there have been many controversial artistes.
There has only been one St. Janet.
