LSU's Flau'jae Johnson Talks Music Video, Growing WCBB, Injury, More in B/R Interview

March is a big month for LSU star Flau'jae Johnson with the Tigers competing in the 2025 NCAA women's basketball tournament and the junior guard dropping a new music track.

Johnson released "What It Takes" on March 14 as part of Powerade's March Madness ad campaign. The song has maintained a steady presence during coverage of the tournament.

In an interview with Bleacher Report's Paige Mautner prior to the start of the Big Dance, Johnson called the music video "the perfect blend between sports me and the rap me."

"That's why I think it's so cool," she said. "My partnership with Powerade started on the athletic side, but they're going into both of my talents. It's bigger than what we did last year. Last year we just did basketball; this year we're doing basketball and music, so it's exciting."

Johnson has broken through as a crossover star in women's sports. Her $1.5 million NIL valuation from On3 is the highest of any women's basketball player.

Part of that popularity stems from how much Johnson and her LSU teammates have displayed a level of self-assurance on the court. She told Mautner that mentality "comes natural" for the Tigers.

"It's not nothing that we're trying to force," she said. "It's not nothing that we're trying to do; it's just the swagger that comes from playing for LSU. Some people just got it."

Johnson added there's a commercial aspect to this too. In the NIL era, becoming an identifiable talent means bolstering your endorsement profile.

The 5'10" guard missed nearly a month of action this season, a stretch that included the SEC tournament. She said remarks from head coach Kim Mulkey helped her to stay in the moment more and appreciate each day as it passes.

Johnson told Mautner that mentality was beneficial in her injury recovery because she was more focused than she would've been in the past. In addition, she said she "definitely tapped into the mental side" while being unable to play and watching LSU from afar.

The third-seeded Tigers rolled through their first two games of the tournament, beating San Diego State 103-48 in the first round and then earning a 101-71 win over Florida State on Monday. Johnson, who returned for the SDSU game, combined to have 35 points, six rebounds and five assists in those two contests.

A matchup with No. 2 North Carolina State awaits Friday.