The LSU superstar discusses her new March Madness song and music video ‘What It Takes’ with Powerade and Lyrical Lemonade.
Flau’jae Johnson knows what it takes because she’s already done it.
The 21-year-old, 5-foot-10 LSU guard already has a national championship under her belt, four albums as a rapper already out, including two tracks with more than 1 million Spotify streams, boasts 2 million Instagram followers and 1.6 million more on TikTok, and claims the highest On3 NIL valuation of any female collegiate athlete other than Livvy Dunne.
But knowing what it takes and having accomplished so much doesn’t mean Flau’jae isn’t satisfied or hungry for more. With March Madness underway and the women’s NCAA Tournament kicking off next weekend, Johnson partnered with Powerade and Lyrical Lemonade to create a new track and music video called “What It Takes” that debuted Friday as part of the hydration brand’s new commercial campaign. It could even be playing during commercials of Flau’jae’s LSU tournament games.
“It’s is a super crazy way to show me in both of my worlds while also getting ready for the tournament and creating a theme song for it,” Flau’jae told Boardroom. “It was super dope, and I’m ready for the world to hear it. It’s probably something that’s going to be in the history books of NIL.”
Subscribe for the biggest stories in the business of sports and entertainment, daily.
The song was inspired by legendary hoopers like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Michael Jordan, but also by the countless hours of practice, conditioning, building physical and mental strength, late nights from September to March, and playing through injuries in preparation to even get to March. Once you get there, titles are won and legacies are built. As part of the overarching campaign, Powerade debuted a commercial called “The Ladder,” underscoring the year-round hard work it takes to not only climb to the top of college hoops but also climb the ladder to cut the nets on teams’ way to the final four and national championship.
“You feel like you’re on top of the world when you’re on that ladder with the confetti on the floor,” Johnson said. “It’s a different kind of feeling, but I don’t want to be in a group of people that don’t get to experience that again, especially when you already have it. And we were so close last year.”
LSU won its first national championship in Flau’jae’s first collegiate season, winning SEC Freshman of the Year and rocking Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the title game as teammate Angel Reese famously pointed to her ring finger. But the Hawkeyes got their revenge in the Elite Eight last year, with LSU falling 94-87. Johnson is still visibly bitter about that game.
“I remember seeing them celebrating and all the confetti and all of that, and damn, that should have been us,” she said. “That could have been us. That’s what I think about every time I step on the court, especially now. I was this close. I don’t want to be this close again. I want to be there.”
Flau’jae’s drive is shared by the controversial Kim Mulkey, LSU’s head coach, who expects greatness from her star player daily. Johnson said Mulkey motivates her to work hard and be ready for the moment as she’s guided Flau’jae toward her growth as a player. Mulkey knows what buttons to press to get her going, which happened late in the regular season.
On Feb. 23 at Kentucky, Flau’jae took only one shot and had three points at halftime as LSU trailed by 12.
“She came into the locker room, and she didn’t yell at me, but she was like, ‘You suck right now,'” Johnson said of Mulkey. “She called me out, and I was not playing good that first half. She kind of chewed me out and knows what to say in order to get me going.”
Flau’jae made her first shot and scored 10 in the second half, holding the Wildcats to 20 total points as LSU won by seven. Sometimes it takes an extra push to reach that inspired, higher level to excel.
Johnson is excelling not only on the court but also in the classroom, music, and NIL. And she takes everything going on in her life and puts it into her music.
“The music is kind of like therapy. It just comes from everything that I do,” Flau’jae said. “That’s why it was easy to write ‘What It Takes.’ It was literally about what I’m doing in music and how I’m grinding every day in basketball, NIL my whole life. So, I take life experiences and put them into my music, so it is really real. Music is how I can let it out and express it.”
There’s never an “aha” moment for Johnson where she immediately thinks of something that will go in a verse or an album like in the movies. She subconsciously takes things in and can channel that into her music as she’s writing it, which has included a recent collaboration with Lil’ Wayne. Now, Flau’jae’s dream rap collaboration is with J. Cole.
“He can rap for real,” she said. “The way he can rap, and the way he flows and the way he tells stories is next level. I don’t think anybody’s really touching him right now with the ability to transcend between the flows and the stores. The way he does it is unreal. He’s one of one for sure.”
Like J. Cole, Johnson has that rare combination of musical ability and elite basketball skill. After next year, that skill will take Flau’jae to the WNBA. Until then, she’s trying to learn everything she can to play at the world’s highest level as she prepares for that leap to the W. Then the endorsements, the music, and all her off-court pursuits will fall into place.
“Lock in on the court,” Flau’jae said, “and everything else will take care of itself for you.”
Flau’jae Johnson knows what it takes. As she continues to climb the ladder to where she wants to be, the only question remaining is where it ends.
Read More:
Building IP Empires: How Video Game Adaptations Are Taking Over Screens
LOVB CEO Katlyn Gao Wants to Build the NBA of Volleyball
Big Tech Scrambles Amidst Tariff Shakeups
Ally is All In on Women’s Sports with WNBA, Paige Bueckers Deals
The WNBA’s Looming CBA Talks Shake Up Draft Plans
