"She quit her job": Flau'jae Johnson reveals story about mom sacrificing job for her rap career

LSU guard Flau'jae Johnson has dabbled with music and basketball her whole life. Johnson first gained attention when she joined the show, "Rap Game," at 13. A year later, she auditioned for "America's Got Talent" with her original song, 'Guns Down.' Johnson got to the quarterfinals and exited later.

Flau'jae Johnson has kept up with her rap career since and even signed with Jay Z's Roc Nation in 2022. Through this entire process, Johnson's biggest support was her mother, Kia Brooks. The young star spoke about her relationship with her mother during an appearance on the "Ebro in the Morning" show on Hot 97 radio.

"It was me and my mom," Johnson said. "She started everything, built everything (and) she still handles everything. She built it (from) the ground up. If it wasn't for my mom, I wouldn't be in this position. When I went on the rap game, she quit her job so that she was able to be there for me on that."

Brooks worked in a dental office before taking on the role of her daughter's manager.

Flau'jae Johnson's mother explains her choice to quit her job

Kia Brooks worked full-time while simultaneously taking care of her daughter's business activities. This included managing Flau'jae's music career while also procuring brand partnerships for her 1.8 million-strong Instagram account.

However, it all changed after one incident in her office. Brooks recalled it in a 2023 interview with Essence:

“I couldn’t make one of Flau’s games because I had to set up the dental office for the next day, but my doctor left and was like, ‘hey, I got to get to Jimmy’s game.’

"And I was like, ‘dang. I’m really being left here so he can go watch his kids, but I can’t watch mine.' I don’t want to be the absent, hardworking single mom."

It all worked out in the end as Flau'jae Johnson is now one of the highest-earning student-athletes, valued at $1.2 million (per On3). Johnson was named Innovator of the Year at the INFLCR NIL Summit in 2023. During her acceptance speech, she said (via On3):

“I want to thank my mom 'cause she’s really got me this far, being a mom, being my manager, negotiating all my NIL deals, from my shoe deals to my local deals in Baton Rouge, so I want to thank her.

"I just want to say, man, I’m blessed, honestly. Just being in a position to be able to profit off my music and my name, image and likeness, being a basketball player and a rapper.”

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