Flau’jae Johnson has caught the eye of record executive Bu Thiam. The LSU Tigers guard is obviously known for her skills on the basketball court, but during the NCAA women’s national championship tournament, countless fans learned she is also a beast in the booth.
At the age of 12, Johnson appeared on Jermaine Dupri’s “The Rap Game,” where she spit for the likes of Fabolous, Rick Ross, Da Brat, and others. Although she did not win the coveted So So Def chain, it is obvious that she ultimately came out on top, as her recent NCAA title win has garnered her music a flood of new fans like Thiam.
“She hard, she hard,” Thiam told TMZ during an interview posted on Sunday (April 9). “You need to holla at me. Yeah, she need to get at me.” The BuVision founder said that he has taken a keen interest in the student-athlete who has worked with Boosie Badazz and has a promising feature from Lil Wayne in the works. Last year, it was announced that Thiam was named the new vice president of Columbia Records, where he steers A&R and strategic initiatives. He previously held A&R positions at Konvict Muzik, a label helmed by his brother Akon, and Def Jam Records, where he worked alongside L.A. Reid. His track record includes having a hand in the success of artists such as Kanye West, Rihanna, T-Pain, and Lady Gaga, to name a few. So it is no surprise that a rising talent such as Johnson has landed on his radar.
“I’ve been, actually, looking into her a little bit. I went to her page the other day to kinda see if it was real. You know, to see if she was like playing or if she was serious about it. From what I see, she’s been doing it for a while now. It just so happens she has basketball skills, but she’s a real rapper for real, so I’mma definitely look into that fo’ sho,” he said.
Even without a record deal, the student-athlete is unstoppable. Johnson and her teammate Angel Reese appeared on the newest episode of “The Pivot” podcast on Saturday (April 8). The ladies explained how the NCAA’s NIL rules have impacted their lives. “NIL has changed the game completely for everybody, men and women. You would think it’d only be men and stuff, but it’s women, too. We’re making bags,” said Reese. “Like, we’re making — they said I was leading the whole country in college basketball in NIL deals. And as a woman, as a Black woman, you know what that [means]? That meant so much…. We’re gonna be in the history books for saying we started this. We did so much here [at] LSU, in our first year here, it’s crazy.”
For now, it seems both of the sophomore ballers are pumping the brakes on the race to the WNBA and instead opting to stay in school and ride out their lucrative NIL deals. “I’m chilling,” said Reese as Johnson added, “We tryna be a graduate student.”