TOKiMONSTA opens up about struggles with potentially fatal brain disease
"I couldn't understand any kind of music whatsoever"
Young Art Records founder TOKiMONSTA recently opened up about her struggles with a brain disease that made it difficult for her to speak, let alone make music.
In an interview with Pitchfork, the Los Angeles-based producer shared that she was diagnosed with moyamoya, a rare and potentially fatal brain disease which constricts the brain’s arteries. After undergoing two surgeries, she was left with the inability to speak or understand speech. Also, do to her brain not functioning at 100 percent, she could not make music.
"I could still think thoughts, but all the words I knew were gone. 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."
With the inability to do what she loved most, TOKiMONSTA decided to take a break from music until she was ready. Now, after making a full recovery, she’s about to release a new album titled ‘Lune Rouge’ which she calls her “most personal piece of work.”
Listen to ‘We Love’ featuring MNDR below, which is off TOKiMONSTA’s new album due out October 6.