TOKiMONSTA’s Music Prevailed over Moyamoya and Tragedy
By James Moreau | 29 Nov, 2025

After two debilitating brain surgeries TOKiMONSTA made a stunning comeback at Coachella and secured a Grammy nomination.

Jennifer Lee, known by the stage name TOKiMONSTA, is an electronic music producer and DJ whose style blends house, hip-hop, and R&B music, often with unique textured sounds and creative sampling. 

She has released 8 extended plays and 7 albums starting with her 2010 debut Midnight Menu.

2014’s Desiderium included “Realla” featuring Anderson .Paak which remains her most streamed song with over 50 million plays.

Lee’s career came to a halt after being diagnosed with Moyamoya, a brain disease, in December 2015.  The following month she lost the ability to speak, understand language, and comprehend music after having two brain surgeries a week apart.  She stated that all music, including songs she knew, lost all melody and sounded like “loud metallic noise.” 

Fortunately, the condition faded after a few weeks.  Just months later she made a triumphant return to the stage at Coachella in 2016.

Lee also began work on her most personal album, Lune Rouge.  Released in 2017 it was Grammy-nominated for “Best Dance/Electronic Album,” making her the first Asian American producer and first female producer to be nominated in the category.  The album included singles “I Wish I Could” and “Don't Call Me” featuring Malaysian singer Yuna.  The latter became her most viewed music video on YouTube.

In 2022 TOKiMONSTA’s “The Flower Blooms” was included in Netflix’s promotional EP for Squid Game.

Her seventh studio album, Eternal Reverie, was released in March 2025 after being postponed to allow her to care for her close friend and tour manager Regina Biondo who experienced an aggressive and ultimately fatal cancer.  The album contained the track, “For You” which Lee has called a “love letter” for her.  Exploring themes of resilience and joy “Corazón / Death By Disco” included a sample that Biondo had brought to Lee’s attention while on tour in Brazil.

Lee is a second-generation Korean American residing in Torrance.  She graduated from UC Irvine in 2010 with a business degree. Her introduction to music came at an early age with classical piano training.  The name TOKiMONSTA derived from the Korean children’s song “Santoki” – mountain rabbit.