Jennifer Lee, known professionally as Tokimonsta (stylized as TOKiMONSTA), is an American record producer and DJ based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. She has collaborated with artists such as

Anderson .Paak Brandon Paak Anderson (born February 8, 1986), better known by his stage name Anderson .Paak (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and drummer. He released his debut mixtape, ''O.B.E. Vol. 1,'' in 2012 and went on to rel ...

Earthgang EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot – born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective Spillage Village, with JID, H ...

Isaiah Rashad Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain (born May 16, 1991), is an American rapper. His first big break was performing on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour with rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA among others. He is a founding member of the Chattanooga hip ...

Selah Sue Selah Sue (born Sanne Greet A. Putseys,Wensink, Herien (2009)A Flemish singer with a Jamaican soul, NRC, 21 August 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2010 3 May 1989) is a Belgian musician and songwriter. Her debut album, '' Selah Sue'' (2011), was a ma ...

, and ZHU. Additionally, has done a number of official remixes, a few being

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band wen ...

, Olafur Arnalds, Disclosure,

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...

, the Netflix show

Squid Game ''Squid Game'' () is a South Korean survival drama television series created by Hwang Dong-hyuk for Netflix. Its cast includes Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, HoYeon Jung, O Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Anupam Tripathi, and Kim Jo ...

and

Odesza Odesza (; stylized as ODESZA) is an American electronic music duo originating from Bellingham, Washington. It consists of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, known individually as Catacombkid and BeachesBeaches. They formed in 2012, shortly bef ...

. In 2019, she was nominated for “Best Dance / Electronic Album” at the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for her album '' Lune Rouge''.

Early life

TOKiMONSTA grew up in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific Oc ...

. Her parents immigrated to the US from South Korea; thus, she is second generation

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

. She was raised by her mother who ran a small business to support their family. As a young child, her mother tasked her with classical piano lessons. Lee often notes disliking the lessons as a child, though she appreciates the structural foundation it created for her approach to composing and producing. She graduated from

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a public land-grant research university in Irvine, California. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, UCI offers 87 undergraduate degrees and 129 graduate and p ...

. There she first began producing music, using the Fruity Loops Studio digital audio workstation (DAW). She later progressed to producing using the Ableton Suite as her primary DAW. She participated in beat cyphers and battles at

Leimert Park Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...

Project Blowed Project Blowed is an open-mic workshop, its affiliated underground hip hop crew and record label based in Los Angeles, California at 3333 Leimert. This hip hop function started in 1994 and features many music groups, emcees, dancers, music pr ...

and

Low End Theory Low End Theory was a weekly experimental hip hop and electronic music club night that took place every Wednesday from 2006 to 2018 at The Airliner in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, California. History "The Low End Theory" is the second studio alb ...

. Upon graduating, she worked for a video game publisher while continuing to make music and perform as a hobby. She would later be laid off, due the US economic recession, and decide to pursue music full time.

Career

Lee was invited to attend the Red Bull Music Academy in London in 2010. She was the first woman to sign to

Flying Lotus Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), known by his stage name Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker and rapper from Los Angeles. He is also the founder of the record label Brainfeeder. Flying Lotus h ...

's Brainfeeder label and released her first album, ''Midnight Menu'', in November 2010 on

Brainfeeder Brainfeeder is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California, founded by Flying Lotus in 2008, focusing on electronic music and instrumental hip hop. It has signed artists such as Ras G, Samiyam, The Gaslamp Killer, Thundercat, ...

. She was rated the number one Hottest Los Angeles Lady DJ by ''LA Weekly'' in December 2010. She released the EP ''Creature Dreams'', also on Brainfeeder, in 2011. The next year, she released ''Boom'', an 11-track collaborative project with Suzi Analogue as Analogue Monsta. In 2013, her second album, ''Half Shadows'', was released on

Ultra Records Ultra Records is an American record label formed in New York City in 1995 by former PolyGram and Virgin Records executive Patrick Moxey. As of December 23, 2012, Ultra entered a global partnership with Sony Music, giving its artists access to ...

. In 2014, she released ''Desiderium'' on her own Young Art Records. She returned to the Red Bull Music Academy that same year as an alumni lecturer. She produced Gavin Turek's ''You're Invited'' in 2015 on Young Art Records. On September 9, 2015, she announced on Twitter the release of her solo album ''Fovere'' and she will be out on tour in support of her new album starting November 9, 2015. She is profiled in the 2020 documentary film '' Underplayed''.Alisha Mughal
"TIFF Review: 'Underplayed' Highlights EDM's Diversity Problem — and Shows Why It's So Important to Fix It"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', September 16, 2020. In December 2022, Lee performed at the inaugural LA3C festival at the Hot Import Nights stage alongside EDM artists Freya Fox, DJ Peach, Meirlin, DJ Accia, Lucid Lolo, DJ Rose Gold, and many others.

Name

The name Tokimonsta originates from the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

word for rabbit (''tokki''), which she took from a Korean's children's song, "San Toki".

Personal life

Lee was diagnosed with

Moyamoya disease Moyamoya disease is a disease in which certain arteries in the brain are constricted. Blood flow is blocked by constriction and blood clots ( thrombosis). A collateral circulation develops around the blocked vessels to compensate for the blockage ...

in late 2015. After undergoing two brain surgeries, she briefly lost language and comprehension skills. Once these were regained, Lee eventually began work on her 2017 album ''Lune Rouge'', despite not being able to fully understand music. She has noted that this album was her most personal piece of work due to the difficulties she experienced prior to making it. She discusses surmounting these challenges in Vox's

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series, '' Explained'' (season 1, episode 20) and the

Great Big Story Great Big Story was a media company producing micro-documentaries based in New York with offices in London. Launched in October 2015 by CNN, the company created 2,600 videos, being published on various websites such as Facebook and YouTube. ...

miniseries Soundwave.

Discography

Albums

* ''Midnight Menu'' (2010) * ''Half Shadows'' (2013) * ''Desiderium'' (2014) * ''Fovere'' (2016) * '' Lune Rouge'' (2017) * ''Oasis Nocturno'' (2020)

Extended plays

* ''Bedtime Lullabies'' (2008) * ''Cosmic Intoxication'' (2010) * ''Creature Dreams'' (2011) * ''Los Angeles 8/10'' (2011) (with Mike Gao) * ''Boom'' (2012) (with Suzi Analogue, as Analogue Monsta) * ''You're Invited'' (2015) (with Gavin Turek) * ''Come And Go Remixed'' (2020) * ''Get Me Some Remixed'' (2020)

Singles

* "USD / Free Dem" (2010) (with Blue Daisy) * "Mileena's Theme" (2011) (for '' Mortal Kombat'') * "Darkest (Dim)" (2012) (with Gavin Turek) * "Go With It" (2013) (with MNDR) * "The Force" (2013) (with

Kool Keith Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool ...

) * "The World Is Ours" (2014) * "Realla" (2014) (with Anderson Paak) * "Steal My Attention" (2014) * "Drive" (2014) (with Arama) * "Pinching" (2014) (with Iza Lach) * "Saw Sydney (Pharrell 'That Girl' Flip)" (2015) * "Hemisphere" (2015) (with Gavin Turek) * "Surrender" (2015) (with Gavin Turek) * "Put It Down" (2015) (with Anderson .Paak) * "Don't Call Me" (2017) (feat. Yuna) * "We Love" (2017) (featuring MNDR) * "I Wish I Could" (2018) (featuring

) * "Strange Foot" (2019) (featuring Ambré) * "Dream Chorus" (2019) * "Love That Never" (2019) * "Fried For the Night" (2020) (featuring

EarthGang EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot – born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective Spillage Village, with JID, H ...

) * "One Day" (2020) (featuring

Bibi Bibi is a given name, nickname and surname. Notable people with this name As a nickname or stage name * Bibi Andersson (1935-2019), Swedish actress * Bibi (artist) (born 1964), French visual artist Fabrice Cahoreau * Bibi Baskin (born 195 ...

and

Jean Deaux Zoi Harris (born May 4, 1995), better known by her stage name Jean Deaux is an American artist, musician and filmmaker. She is known for her mastery of multiple genres and creative mediums. Her debut EP ''Krash'' was released in October 19, 2018. ...

)

Remixes

Shlohmo Henry Laufer (born January 3, 1990), known professionally as Shlohmo, is an American musician and producer from Los Angeles. He is best known for his experimental production style and for founding the record label Wedidit Records. Career Shloh ...

- "Hot Boxing the Cockpit" (2010) * Suzi Analogue - "NXT MSG" (2010) * Eight and a Half - "Scissors" (2011) * Take - "Horizontal Figuration" (2011) * Andreya Triana - "Far Closer" (2011) * Swede:Art - "I'm a R.O.B.O.T." (2011) * Daedelus - "Tailor-Made" (2011) * Kidkanevil - "Megajoy" (2011) *

Hundred Waters Hundred Waters is an American band formed in Gainesville, Florida in October 2011, composed of Nicole Miglis (vocals, piano, flute), Trayer Tryon (production, electronics, bass) and Zach Tetreault (drums, percussion, trumpet). The group came to pr ...

- "Thistle" (2012) *

Jodeci Jodeci ( ) is an American R&B quartet consisting of members DeVanté Swing, Mr. Dalvin, K-Ci, and JoJo. Formed in 1989 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Jodeci's members began their musical careers as two duos of brothers and, after years of lim ...

- " Freek'n You" (2012) *

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre o ...

João Gilberto João Gilberto (born João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira – ; 10 June 1931 – 6 July 2019) was a Brazilian guitarist, singer and composer who was a pioneer of the musical genre of bossa nova in the late 1950s. Around the world, he was of ...

- "

Corcovado Corcovado (korcovádo) which means "hunchback" in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a 710-metre (2,329 ft) granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park. Corcovado hill lies just west of the ...

" (2013) *

Felix Cartal Taelor Deitcher (born April 9, 1987), better known by his stage name Felix Cartal, is a Canadian DJ and electronic dance music producer. He released his first EP ''Skeleton'' in 2009 once he signed with Dim Mak Records. Since then he has gone o ...

- "New Scene" (2013) * Justin Timberlake - " Suit & Tie" (2013) *

Tinashe Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notab ...

- "

2 On "2 On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Tinashe for her debut studio album ''Aquarius (Tinashe album), Aquarius'' (2014). The song, which features a rap verse from American rapper SchoolBoy Q, was written by Tinashe, Schoolboy Q, Bobby Bra ...

" (2014) *

Elizabeth Rose Elizabeth Rose may refer to: * Elizabeth Rose (nun), 12th-century nun * Elizabeth Rose, Lady of Kilravock (1747–1815), Scottish literary critic and author * Elizabeth Rose (musician) Elizabeth Maniscalco, better known by her stage name Elizabet ...

- "Sensibility" (2014) * Kilo Kish - "IOU" (2014) *

Jessie Ware Jessica Lois Ware (born 15 October 1984) is an English singer, songwriter and broadcaster. Ware came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album, '' Devotion'' (2012), which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, produ ...

- "Keep On Lying" (2014) *

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the ...

- " Heartbreaker" (2014) (with Io Echo) *

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his debut album, '' Lupe Fiasco's ...

- "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

" (2014) *

Yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

- "Where Does This Disco?" (2015) *

The Drums The Drums are an American indie pop band from New York City. Formation Founding members Jonathan (Jonny) Pierce and Jacob Graham became friends as children, having met at Bible camp at age 11 or 12. Some years later, they formed a short-lived ...

- "There's Nothing Left" (2015) * Gavin Turek - "Frontline" (2015) *

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous fashion, ima ...

- "Team Rocket" (2016) *

- " Wow" (2016) * Maroon 5 &

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

– "

Girls Like You "Girls Like You" is a song recorded by American band Maroon 5 from their sixth studio album ''Red Pill Blues'' (2017). The track was written by lead singer Adam Levine, Starrah, Gian Stone, Cirkut, and Jason Evigan, with the latter two serving ...

" (2018) * George FitzGerald and

Lil Silva Tyrone Jermaine "TJ" Carter, better known by the stage name Lil Silva, is an English record producer, singer, songwriter and DJ, based in Bedford. He has produced and sung on his own singles and EPs (mostly released through the Good Years label) ...

- "Rollback" (2018) *

- "Falls" (2018) * Olafur Arnalds - "They Sink" (2019)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 21st-century American musicians 21st-century American women musicians Ableton Live users American electronic musicians American hip hop DJs American hip hop record producers American musicians of Korean descent Club DJs Women DJs Living people Musicians from Los Angeles Musicians from Torrance, California Remixers Ultra Records artists University of California, Irvine alumni American women in electronic music Record producers from California American women record producers Project Blowed American female hip hop musicians American women DJs Year of birth missing (living people)