Flau’jae Johnson has been under the microscope since she was 12 years old.
Whether on the court as a guard at LSU or on the mic as a rapper with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation, the 20-year-old millionaire isn’t bothered by the constant glare of the spotlight because she’s well-equipped to handle it.
“I think it’s kind of just like the same thing that I’ve been doing all my life, since I was 12 years old [on reality TV show competitions],” Johnson told The Post in a recent interview about how she weathers the added attention following the Tigers’ national championship run in 2023.
The SEC Freshman of the Year in 2023, Johnson – entering her junior year in Baton Rouge – is prepared to take on a larger role with coach Kim Mulkey’s Tigers following the departures of star forward Angel Reese, currently in her rookie WNBA season with the Chicago Sky, and point guard Hailey Van Lith, now with TCU after transferring following the 2023-24 season.
“Yeah, the spotlight will be on me,” she said, “but that’s why basketball is a team sport. Like I say, I’m on my team to be there. I have to lead them. I’m the captain.
“I have to lift them up. So it, for me is just like learning how to just be inclusive. Like they say, the good players, they’re good, but the great players, they help bring people up with them. So like, that’s what I want to do, like have to build my team up because I want to do something special at LSU.”
The spotlight has been shining bright on Johnson for some time.
At age 12, she appeared on Jermaine Dupri’s “The Rap Game” reality show, which centered on finding the next big rap star.
Johnson captured the public’s attention two years later as a contestant on “America’s Got Talent,” receiving the golden buzzer — which permits a judge to send talent to live shows automatically — at age 14 in 2018.
Now building a legacy that spans sports and entertainment, Johnson envisions more championship chapters to her story.
“… I already won a national championship, but one’s not enough when I have two, two more years left maybe, you know?” she said.
“I just want to I want to leave my impact, make my mark. I’m doing something like nobody has ever really done before. So I wanted to be special.”
LSU was no fluke
In July 2021, a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court collapsed the NCAA’s system that prohibited athletes from earning compensation.
Johnson and her mother, manager Kia Brooks, were prepared to explore their options when the time came.
Johnson said she chose LSU because of the school’s extensive NILSU program, which works closely with students to maximize their NIL opportunities and build their brands.
“I feel like my mom makes it pretty easy for LSU. She just kind of built her own team so that we can kind of keep moving because I have a lot of stuff going on,” said Johnson, who currently has a net worth of $3 million.
“We’re like a fast-moving train, and the bigger you get in NIL I feel like you have to have your own team. You can’t just rely on the school because they’re working with 100s of athletes that they’re trying to help.
“Taylor [Jacobs, LSU Associate AD] has been amazing just helping us, especially on the music side with promotion and things of that nature… different marketing strategies, different things like that. And they have just been so, so supportive.”
Johnson’s journey in the NIL (name, image and likeness) space is explored in the new six-part Amazon docuseries “The Money Game,” which chronicles LSU’s program for athletes, including star gymnast Olivia Dunne.
In regards to schoolwork, all of Johnson’s classes are online except for one business course focusing on entrepreneurship.
Johnson’s business is a well-oiled machine, mostly due to Brooks, who keeps her on track when she’s feeling overwhelmed.
The docuseries showcases the healthy balance between their work dynamic and mother-daughter relationship, with the occasional banter.
“It was hard. [In the beginning], It was like, ‘Oh no. I might have to get another manager because I didn’t want it to affect our relationship as mom and daughter,” Johnson said.
“… We really had to just have a conversation to make sure that we work together and this doesn’t impact our relationship… We just learned how to be amicable together, and I began listening to her because she’s usually she always right, most of the time… We set boundaries and it’s been working well.”
Brooks, also known as “the NIL Momager,” visited The Post with Johnson, noddingand laughing while filming behind-the-scenes moments on her camera phone.
Next step: WNBA
Johnson, who will turn 21 on Nov. 3, said she plans on playing in the WNBA.
It’s just a matter of when she will declare for the draft.
“I am going to choose to go to the WNBA. I don’t know how soon… just depending on how, you know, how my season goes and things like that,” she said.
Players typically are not eligible for the WNBA draft until after their senior season, but Johnson could declare for the 2025 draft after her junior season because she turns 22 later that year.
Johnson was a crucial part of LSU’s championship run in 2023 as a freshman and continued that stretch throughout this year’s March Madness tournament.
She led the Tigers with 23 points on 10-18 from the field and six rebounds in LSU’s Elite Eight loss to Iowa in the 2024 NCAA tournament.
In her sophomore year, Johnson averaged 14.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals while shooting 50 percent from the field and 38 percent from three-point range.
Johnson knows the future is bright for the WNBA and said it’s a direct result of the famous rivalry between Reese and former Iowa star Caitlin Clark, now a member of the Indiana Fever.
“But I think like for me, it’s beautiful to be able to see the WNBA flourish more and I think it’s directly from the impact that our LSU team had,” she said.
“You can’t deny the fact that after Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and LSU that women’s basketball had a surge.
“And so just to even be a part of that and now being able to go into the game and still continue to help grow it and just be a part of that. I think those are the best women in the world playing basketball. Just being able to play with those top-caliber women, that’s a dream come true.”
Before leaping the pros, Johnson will first suit up for her junior year with the Lady Tigers.
LSU’s season opener will be at home against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 4.
R&B era
Johnson, a Savannah, Ga. native, vowed not to get wrapped up in the materialism of “the money game” and to remain true to herself.
“Keep the main thing the main thing,” the “Big 4” rapper said, adding that being a student keeps her humble.
She signed with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation in January 2024 and performed at the ESPY Awards and WNBA All-Star in July.
Her music video with Grammy-winning rapper Lil Wayne for their song, “Came Out Like A Beast,” was released in August — and she closed on her first piece of land in Atlanta that same month.
Johnson is excited about what’s next following the summer release of her debut studio EP, “Best Of Both Worlds.”
“I”m going into my R&B phase,” she said without teasing any further details.
“People are really now starting to appreciate my music. I think people people don’t like want to believe that I can do two things… It’s like, ‘how can she be good at music and basketball?’
“So sometimes, they won’t even give my music a listen. And then when they hear it, they’re like, ‘Whoa,’ this is actually [good],’” she said.
“And I’m like, ‘I’ve been trying to tell you all this.’”
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