At 19, she’s accomplished more than most at her age. A women’s NCAA champion and an aspiring rapper — Flau’jae Johnson is living the best of both worlds, as her upcoming EP is aptly titled. The inspiration behind her first studio-produced EP, Best of Both Worlds, came from “just showing people that I [can] do both rap and basketball at a high level,” she told Blavity in an exclusive interview.

Not many can say they’ve had the freshman year like Johnson has. After received a full-ride scholarship to play basketball, the dynamic starting point guard of the Lady Tigers helped drive the LSU women’s basketball team to their first national championship last season, devastating the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes 102-85 in the final game. As the third-leading scorer, she was also named 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year.

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The highlight of playing up until the championship win, for Johnson, was to “just be on my team.”

“You know, you[’re] with these people every day, you become family. So I won that championship with my family, and that was probably the best part about it for sure,” she said.

 

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Now, with her sophomore season looming, the star player is gearing up with one goal in mind: “Just getting better, man. Just getting better,” she said.

But this isn’t the first recognition the Savannah native has received.

After stealing the title of all-time leading scorer back at Sprayberry, the high school went as far as retiring her No. 4 jersey while she was still a student.

In addition, the intersection of Abercorn Street and West Montgomery Cross Road in Savannah, Georgia will soon be the Flau’jae Johnson Intersection, after a resolution was passed to commemorate the LSU guard and rapper for instilling positive change in her community.

“I feel like those honors, they [weren’t] given to me. I just work hard for ’em, you know what I’m saying? So I think that it’s just cool for people to see the work and understand the vision,” she said.

The Georgian’s talents reach beyond the court, where aside from being one of basketball’s highest-earning female athletes, she is known for her budding music career.

Her musical genius has made it to the stages of shows like NBC’s America’s Got Talent and Jermaine Dupri’s competition series The Rap Game, where she has showed off some serious lyrical prowess.

Since then, the ambitious rapper has scored a record deal with JAY-Z’s music label, Roc Nation and teased a collaboration with Lil Wayne.

“It’s under wraps right now, but it’s coming though!” she told Blavity.

With those skills in mind, Johnson has serious goals for her rap career.

“I want my music to chart. I wanna go perform. I wanted to get millions of streams and things like that. I think that’s the next big goal for me,” Johnson said.

“And I want a Grammy!” the artist added. “Some kind of award really, but a Grammy, for sure.”

Her decision to pursue music and basketball has made her one of the youngest hip-hop and athletic ambassadors of her time. But Johnson confessed there’s no secret to balancing the pressures of both the basketball and rap career she juggles day-to-day.

“Just a lot of discipline and a lot of consistency. That’s all. I just [am] consistent and disciplined in what I gotta do, [and] make sure I got my day in order and everything runs smooth.”

The budding rapper was recently invited to join Anna Bediones to take on Kamaiyah and Horsepowar in Red Bull’s Rap IQ game show.

The artists flexed their hip-hop knowledge in multiple different segments. And Johnson credits her own knowledge to studying “the greats.”

“I would say I have a high rap IQ because I studied most of the greats coming outta New York… I listened to a lot of classic old rap, so I would say I got a little bit of a high IQ,” she revealed.

That said, Johnson didn’t have much of a game plan heading into the experience.

“I ain’t really prepare[d] for it. I was just going in, I probably should have prepared for it, but I was just going in like a gangster thinking I knew everything,” Johnson said with a laugh.

 

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The “Raggedy Ice,” as her and Bediones’ team was dubbed, won the episode, but Johnson would be down to join for another round if given the opportunity — with one condition.

“I told ’em next time if I come they gotta do more, they gotta do a little bit more stuff that[’s] up to date that I would know, you know what I’m saying? I was born in 2003. Come on, bro,” she explained.

As an up-and-coming rapper, showing off her rap knowledge was a cool opportunity to establish herself as a serious “student of the game.”

“I really take the craft seriously and the people who came before me, I respect, for sure.”

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Her father, known by his rap moniker “Camoflauge,” was a popular rapper in Georgia before his untimely death before Johnson was born. Despite his absence, he continues to inspire his daughter and now, she’s carrying the torch.

“My father just inspired me to go hard every day, you know? And I love his music, I love the legacy he built and I wanna continue to build it and build my own legacy as well.”

For the “Big 4” rapper, doing big things on the court and on the rap scene has been “like the stars are aligning.”

“When you really work for something that actually happens, [it] makes you feel like you could do anything. So I wanna push that message, you know?”

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