Flau’jae Johnson embodies the title of his upcoming EP, Best of Both Worlds.
The LSU guard was named the 2023 SEC Freshman of the Year and led the Tigers to their first Women’s Basketball National Championship last season. She is also a respected rapper.
Despite his busy schedule, Johnson often gives back, and earlier this month he performed at USA TODAY’s Bayou Regional High School Sports Awards, which he said was “very cool.” She shared lessons she learned during her time at Spraybury High School, such as the importance of being a good teammate.
“I told them it was going to be a mental transition from high school to college,” she told USA TODAY Sports.
Before shining at LSU, Johnson emerged as the team’s all-time top scorer at Spraybury. The school retired her uniform number 4 while she was in school.
“It was unbelievable,” she recalled. “It was like a legend to me.”
Celebrations in her hometown don’t end there, as a crossroads named after her will be built this summer in Savannah, Georgia. The main intersection of Abercorn Street and West Montgomery Cross Road will be engraved with her name after ceremonies such as concerts and cookouts.
“I think it’s such an honor. It will go down in history forever!” she said. “It’s unbelievable. I think the only time you really believe it is when you really wake up on the highway and you’re like, ‘Wow.'”
“She came in accepting the obligation to graduate, go to college, be a freshman this year and win a championship,” Carl Gilliard, the representative who proposed the bill, told Fox 28 Savannah. . “I want you to know that we have been working on this since the beginning of January. I think it’s an example of an opportunity to get to know.” ”
Fraujay Johnson talks about his rap career
Johnson is the daughter of Jason Johnson, who also made music under the name Camouflage, so he has strong ties to the community. A legend on the local music scene, he was shot dead months before his daughter was born.
“I feel like it’s in me just by him being who he is. I get inspired, but it’s really in me to do great things,” she said. “I feel he is someone I look up to, especially in music. He inspires the rhythms, flows and rhymes I do. It gives me inspiration.”
Johnson said the emotional storytelling track “No Love” is her father’s favorite song. His influences include “Ready or Not Freestyle” over the Fugees’ iconic beat and “The Voice,” which expresses her desire to speak for people without a platform. It’s evident in her songs.
Johnson has been rapping since childhood, appearing on “The Rap Game” and twice on “America’s Got Talent.” However, her recent events have forced her to reconsider having her public persona. She made headlines last month after her remix of Rat’s “Put It On The Floor” came under fire for lyrics referring to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. At the time, she deleted the video and reposted a second version of the song with new lyrics.
“I have a broader audience and I’ve learned that there are more people listening to my songs,” she said. “So all I have to do is show that I’m not in a position to make it look like I’m disrespecting anyone or doing anything like that. But keep making music, keep being myself, but let’s learn from the social stuff.” Media side. ”
Flau’jae Johnson’s music and basketball careers are intertwined
Johnson said he juggles music and basketball with a demanding schedule. She hopes to be in the studio with fellow athlete/rapper and NBA star Damian Lillard this offseason, and she’s also working on a song with hip-hop icon Lil Wayne. she said. Earlier this month, she released “Big 4 Anthem,” a confined banger that raps about having a good time but also struggling.
Johnson’s success on the court and on the charts may not have been possible without the NCAA adopting a name, image and likeness policy in 2021. Previously, Miami Hurricanes defensive end Chad Thomas produced the music and was paid for the beats he played. Rick Ross album “Rather You Than Me”. But no collegiate athlete has built a brand like Johnson.she Received Innovator of the Year award at this year’s NIL Summit about how she took advantage of the opportunities presented to her.
“Having NIL is a blessing. Now I can sell my music, my merch, my name, my image, my likeness and whatever else I want to do, so it’s great,” she said. “…literally there is nothing you can’t do with NIL. You have to get creative.”
For Johnson, basketball and music are not separate, but deeply intertwined. She signed a distribution deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation at age 17, but that’s because LaMelo Ball’s manager, Jermaine Jackson, had scouted her for the AAU team and had connections with her label. Because. When LSU won her first women’s title, her national profile increased, which led to an increase in her streaming.
Johnson enjoyed the moment of victory and everything that came with it, but said he was ready for what came next.
“It was fun, but as usual I had to look to the next step,” she said. “…I am ready to go back and compete. I am very, very excited to be competing every day.”
