Flau’jae Johnson gets 100% real about rap meaning more than basketball until one turning point in her career

Flau’jae Johnson has always stood out as a rare dual talent, combining being a rising basketball star and a rapper, but for most of her early life, music was her main dream.

During a revealing appearance on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast with Shannon Sharpe on Wednesday, the LSU standout opened up about the turning point that changed her mindset and made basketball just as important as rap.

She had a dream of becoming a famous kid rapper and when Sharpe asked if rap meant more to her than basketball growing up, she responded said:

“At that point, yeah. Because with basketball, I was just going on the court every day, working myself out. I never had a trainer — walking to LA Fitness, playing the guys all day. Like, that’s all I did.”

But everything changed when one figure stepped in, a coach who saw her potential beyond the neighbourhood courts.

“Until like my coach Jay — shoutout Coach Jay — he was like, ‘Flau, like you could play in … like you could play in college," she added. "Like, you can go to college for this.’ And I’m like, ‘No, I can’t.’ I didn’t know — like the WNBA wasn’t prevalent or nothing like that.”

Still unconvinced, it took another push from a respected figure in women’s college hoops.

“So I’m thinking about rap," she said. "I’m like, ‘I’ll just do this on the side.’ He like, ‘No.’ And then like Coach Yo from Ole Miss, she was like, ‘I’m offering you a scholarship.’ And I was like, ‘Wow.’ That’s when I kind of started believing in basketball.” [Timestamp 25:04-25:36]

Since then, Johnson has flourished on both fronts. She entered LSU as a top recruit and helped the Tigers win the NCAA title as a freshman. Off the court, she continues to grow her rap career, signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation and dropping music consistently.

Flau’jae Johnson opens up about her music career

Shannon Sharpe pointed out to Flau’jae Johnson that she has held on to rap despite her success on the court and was curious to know why. Johnson opened up on the reason and one of them is to prove doubters wrong.

“It’s because so many people doubt me," Johnson said. "I feel like people don’t give me a chance just because I play basketball, you know what I’m saying? They don’t really give the music a chance.”

Despite the doubters, Johnson admits that rap is something she cannot stop due to the joy it brings her.

“But it’s something I just can’t stop. I can’t stop recording," she said. "I can’t stop making music. When you get that kind of joy from something — the kind of joy where you could be doing it for hours and not even care — that’s what I feel when I’m making music. And it’s the same joy I get from being in a workout." [Timestamp 26:02-26:24]

Johnson has three music albums and four EPs to her name. The LSU star was inspired to pursue a rap career to continue her father's legacy, and she has held on to that.