Before even turning 21, Flau’jae Johnson had started etching her legacy in two fields — basketball and rap. From winning an NCAA national title and being one of the faces of the NIL movement in collegiate sports, to performing at the BET Hip Hop Awards and going bar for bar with Lil Wayne, her star power is only growing with each song, and she’s already thinking about her future.

“The ball is gonna stop bouncing one day, but I'm gonna have a chance to be able to do music forever,” Flau’jae told REVOLT.

In this installment of “Studio Sessions,” the NCAA champion explains her competitive spirit on songs with Lil Wayne and NLE Choppa, dealing with LSU struggles through music and her upcoming Best of Both Worlds deluxe album.

You've been putting out music since you were around 13 years old, starting with the song “Can You Hear Me Now” in 2017. What was your first studio session?

I remember my first studio session was in this little project housing. Roscoe and Big Fif took me, and I went and recorded songs for my EP. Then, it was history after that. I kinda was addicted to going. I had to be 8 or 9.

Over the last seven years, how have you evolved as a recording artist?

My process has evolved a lot. When I first used to go in there, I used to write everything. When I started recording with JBO and Big Nick, they were telling me, “Everybody freestyles.” So, I began freestyling, and I never really stopped. I still wrote my remixes to other people's music. But, for most of my music, I was freestyling and punching in.

That's when I learned how to punch in. I call it the Polo G technique. I saw him in an interview saying he gets his beats, and he lines them up all on the same track. I was like, “Maybe I should try it like this.” The most tracks we lined up in one session were 16 tracks, and I just kept rapping. I think I was rapping for an hour. I still write, but for my R&B stuff I'm about to drop, I freestyle.

As an athlete and public figure, most of what you do is scheduled. Is your recording spontaneous or scheduled?

Yeah, it's hella spontaneous, but I wanna make it more of a scheduled thing. I feel like now I just do it part-time. I like to tell people I do both, but I'm really doing music on the side. Imagine if I had the time to do it full-time like I do with basketball. Imagine if I could put in eight hours a day recording.

Even though you spend most of your time focused on basketball, has there ever been a time after a game where you hit the mic because of how you were feeling?

Oh, no, for sure. It’s really an everyday thing. When my emotions are high, I feel I make the best music. My emotions are the most heightened when I feel good or when I feel bad. It’s mostly when I feel bad because I just gotta get it out. I recorded “Damaged” after a game in my room last year. It's on my EP Best of Both Worlds.

I recorded that song, and I was really in a lost place. I remember because I was uncertain about my future at LSU, and about me as a player. I felt like I wasn't able to play how I normally play. I felt like I wasn't getting opportunities and all of this, but that song really made me reflect on that. My destiny is in my hands. If you go back and listen to it, some people think it's about a person, but it is really about basketball.

Speaking of LSU, we’ve seen all of the team TikToks. Were there ever any cyphers on the mic with the team?

Nah, I used to freestyle and clown them for real, but we ain't never do no cypher.

Do you see a future where you just rap and not play basketball?

I definitely do, because the ball is gonna stop bouncing one day, but I'm gonna have a chance to be able to do music forever.

What can we expect from your Best of Both Worlds deluxe album?

I got some heat on there. It’s all different kinds of songs. It's all different. Every song is completely different. These are songs that didn't make the cut because I've been recorded these songs back in June or July. One of these songs is four or five years old. “Master Plan” and “Big Bag” were songs that didn't make the tape. I made them, and we had already turned in the project.

These studio sessions led to you performing at the 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards. What was that experience like?

Bro, I ain't gonna lie, that experience made me feel like I’m a big deal in the music space. They were like, “Nah, we’re gonna bring the stage to you and let you rock out.” That was big. I was really heartbroken that I couldn't do it live because of my basketball schedule, and then it turned into my favor. So, it was amazing.

When you join the WNBA, how do you see that affecting your recording schedule?

I feel, like, that it’ll make it way different because it'll make it way better. It'll open up 'cause I have so many obligations as a college student. In the WNBA, they practice like once a day to get their work in, and they really got the rest of the day to do what they want. I've talked to pros about their schedules. So, I feel like it'll open up so much for me and allow me to do the things I really wanna do. I feel like college is kinda holding me back, in a good way though. It's giving me that discipline. It's giving me time to learn how to create a schedule.

But now, I kinda gotta take my time management and discipline to another level so that I could be on a whole ‘nother level with it. Right now, I feel like I'm on the same schedule I was on last year, but I need more. I wanna do more. It's just about taking my discipline to the next level and trying to do something every day pertaining to music. Whether that's recording a song, writing a song or doing content. I have to be doing something every day that pertains to music so that I can be the best that I wanna be.

You also get the respect of MCs like Lil Wayne and NLE Choppa.

Wale texted me the other day saying, “Bro, that ‘Million Dollar Baby Freestyle’ is a 10 out of 10.” I was like, “That's crazy.” This is Wale. He’s one of the dopest writers ever.

When you’re on songs with other MCs, do you still have that same competitive spirit to outrap them?

100 percent. If I'm on a feature, I'm trying to kill you. If you listen to any feature I'm on, you’ll be like, “She probably bodied them.” That was the goal. This is like a basketball game to me. I want to body everybody. We ain't friends on the track, you feel me? We might be on the same team, but I'm trying to annihilate you. That's the same thing Kobe Bryant was doing. That's not gonna do anything but level up my game and your game. I really just wanna be the best I could be, and I just kinda take that basketball mentality to the track.

Have you ever teared up in the studio making a song?

Yeah, definitely. There’s been a lot of times like that. Music is powerful, and it could change your mindset. It could really attack your emotions and could really just make you feel something. I don't ever try to be dismissive of that. I gotta try to accept that, 'cause if it makes me cry, I know it's gonna make somebody else feel something. It ain't gonna do nothing but help people.

What’s a dream collaboration you wish to get? What are some collaborations you have in motion?

The one person that I really wanted to collaborate with is J. Cole. I feel like he is the greatest rapper of our generation. So, if I'm able to go toe-to-toe with that man, that would be an accomplishment. I think that collaboration is gonna come with time. When it does come, I'm gonna be ready for it. I just gotta keep perfecting my pen. As far as reaching out to people, I'm done reaching out to people 'cause every time I reach out, they'll reply to me, and then they'll ghost me, bro. I don't even care anymore. It’s just gonna happen when it happens. I only wanna do features with my friends and people I respect.

What do you have coming for the rest of the year?

For the rest of the year, I have the deluxe dropping, and I'm just working on that R&B project. I'm probably more focused on the R&B project than I need to because I got the deluxe coming out, and I need to be focused on that more. I got some freestyles dropping.