With the new music video for Flau’Jae, the artist and athlete comes full circle – Essence

Drake once said, “Sports and music are so synonymous, because we want to be them and they want to be us.” No one embodies this statement better than Flau’Jae Johnson. She made headlines two years ago as a freshman when Louisiana State University won the national championship as the lead singer of the team. The world also had the chance to get to know her other talent: rap.

For Flau’jae, choosing between basketball and music wasn’t a decision at all. “It’s just about being dedicated and consistent and being able to tune out the noise,” she says. “I think a lot of people try to tell you what you can’t do. They try to put you in a box. They try to justify their fears and project them onto you. But for me, it’s just about having the mindset that I can be both.”

The Savannah native continues to shine as an athlete and rapper and has released her debut album The best of both worlds aptly titled. She’s one of the most recognizable faces in college basketball, landing multiple NIL contracts and sponsorships with brands like Overtime, Powerade, and Puma. She’s also established herself as a legitimate musician with millions of streams and live performances at the ESPYs and the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game. The fame came in recent years, but Flau’Jae had the vision long before that.

“I’ve been rapping since I was seven or eight,” says Johnson. “I started rapping because my dad was a camouflage rapper. And I just wanted to be like him. So I started rapping really early.”

By the time her father – whose real name was Jason Johnson – turned 21, he had already established himself as the biggest rapper in town and signed a deal with a major record label to prove it. Unfortunately, not long after signing his deal, the rapper was shot and killed in May 2003. Flau’Jae’s mother was only three months pregnant with her at the time.

The article continues after the video.

“Growing up, I didn’t really understand the magnitude of the situation,” the LSU guard admits. “Because how can you miss something you never had. As you get older, you start to understand more. But I always felt connected to him through music. That’s why music means so much to me. That’s why I have to do it, no matter what people say.”

Now she’s living the dream her father laid the foundation for; and she talks about it on several tracks. She opens her album with “Legendary Flows,” where she gets deep and introspective about why she takes rap so seriously. Another hit from the album is the Jersey club smash “Karma,” featuring 2Rare. Flau’Jae shows her versatility on the playful beat as she alternates between rapping and singing in her verses.

The project’s standout track is “Came Out A Beast,” a collaboration with Lil Wayne. The song is beautifully crafted, with samples of Della Humprey’s “Don’t Make the Good Girls Go Bad.” Flau’Jae recorded the song as an ode to LSU, so it was only right that the state’s biggest artist be featured on it. The task of putting this legend on the track was ambitious, but consistency was key.

“After we won the championship, Sue Bird asked him on ESPN if he would ever give me a verse,” says Flau’Jae. “After that, I kept pushing him, he took his time, but it’s Lil Wayne, I’m not going to push him. So I kept going Swaying in the morningand I did the ‘Six Foot, Seven Foot’ remix and it was awesome. After he saw it, it sped up the process.”

Not only did Wayne send her a verse back, but he also came to the video shoot, which included Flau’Jae’s teammates. Some of her closest friends and family were able to meet the New Orleans rapper, bringing Johnson full circle in both her life and career.

“I was like, ‘I need someone big to back this song with a lot of effort so they’ll take me seriously,'” Flau’Jae tells ESSENCE. “I never thought it would be one of the biggest rappers of all time, but that just shows how much favor God has given me along the way.”