Drake once said, “Sports and music are so synonymous because we want to be them and they want to be us.” No one embodies that line greater than Flau’Jae Johnson. She burst onto the scene two years ago as a freshman when Louisiana State University won the National Championship as a key part of the team. The world has also had the likelihood to experience one other talent of hers: rap.

For Flau’jae, selecting between basketball and music didn’t should be a alternative in any respect. “It’s just about dedication, consistency, and being able to tune out the noise,” he says. “I think a lot of people will try to tell you what you can’t do. They try to put you in a box. They try to take their fears and put them on you. But for me, it’s just about being able to be both.”

The Savannah-born artist continues to shine as an athlete and rapper, together with her debut album fittingly titled. She’s one of the most recognizable faces in college basketball, landing multiple NIL deals and sponsorships with brands like Overtime, Powerade, and Puma. She’s established herself as a legitimate musician with tens of millions of streams and live performances at the ESPYs and the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game. Fame has come lately, but Flau’Jae had a vision long before that.

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

By the time her father—whose real name was Jason Johnson—was 21, he was already the biggest rapper on the town, and to prove it, he signed with a major record label. Unfortunately, shortly after signing the contract, the rapper was shot and killed in May 2003. Flau’Jae’s mother was three months pregnant at the time.

“Growing up, I didn’t really understand the gravity of it,” the LSU linebacker admits. “Because how can you miss something you never had? The older you get, the more you understand. But I always 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 set the foundation for; and she speaks about it on many of her songs. She opens her album with “Legendary Flows,” where she reflects deeply and introspectively on why she takes rap so seriously. Another hit from the album is the club banger Jersey “Karma” featuring 2Rare. Flau’Jae shows off her versatility on the fun beat as she switches between rapping and singing throughout the verse.

The most standout track on the project is “The beast got here out,” a collaborative effort with Lil Wayne. The song is beautifully crafted, with production that features a sample from Della Humphrey’s “Don’t Make the Good Girls Go Bad.” Flau’Jae recorded the song as a tribute to LSU, so it was only right that the state’s biggest artist would seem 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,” Flau’Jae says. “After that, I kept pushing and pushing, and he was taking his time, but it’s Lil Wayne, I’m not going to rush him. So I went ahead and did the ‘Six Foot, Seven Foot’ remix and I blew it up. After he saw it, it sped up the whole process.”

Wayne not only sent her a verse back, but additionally got here to the video shoot, which Flau’Jae’s teammates also participated in. Some of her closest friends and family were capable of meet up with the New Orleans rapper, which was a moment of closure for Johnson, each in her life and profession.

“I was like, ‘I need someone big, someone who’s going to be a big co-writer on this song so they can take me seriously,’” Flau’Jae tells ESSENCE. “I never thought he’d be one of the greatest rappers of all time, but it shows how much grace God has given me on my journey.”