Published
Wed, Sep 13, 2017, 10:41
- The Los Angeles artist has spoken to Pitchfork about receiving treatment for moyamoya, which resulted in a temporary loss of speech skills and music-making and comprehension.
TOKiMONSTA has revealed her struggle with a rare and life-threatening brain disease.
In an interview with Pitchfork, the artist, real name Jennifer Lee, disclosed her diagnosis and recovery from moyamoya, a disease that affects the brain's arteries and can lead to aneurysm or stroke. She underwent two surgeries, in January 2016, to treat the disease and lost language skills as well as her ability to comprehend and make music in the months that followed.
"I could still think thoughts, but all the words I knew were gone," Lee said. "I even tried texting people and my texts were complete gibberish. It was almost like suddenly I spoke a different language than everyone else. I'm a fairly chatty person, and to take that facility away was just a visceral pain. But the worst part was that I couldn't understand any kind of music whatsoever. It didn't sound right."
Lee, who has since made a full recovery, has announced a new LP, Lune Rouge. She has described the 11-track album as her "most personal piece of work." It features several guests, including Selah Sue, MNDR and Isaiah Rashad, and is coming out on her own label, Young Art Records.
Check out the video for "We Love" feat. MNDR.
Tracklist
01. Lune
02. Rouge
03. Thief feat. SAINTS
04. I Wish I Could feat. Selah Sue
05. We Love feat. MNDR
06. NO WAY feat. Isaiah Rashad, Joey Purp & Ambré Perkins
07. Don't Call Me feat. Yuna
08. Rose's Thorn
09. Private
10. Early To Dawn feat. Selah Sue
11. Estrange feat. IO Echo
Young Art Records will release Lune Rouge on October 6th, 2017.