Tokimonsta has cancelled her upcoming tour and postponed the release of her forthcoming album due to, she writes, “an extremely urgent personal matter.”
The Los Angeles-based artist born Jennifer Lee announced the news on Monday (Sept. 23) in a statement shared to her Instagram. “I am pretty crushed to share this news with you, but I know in my heart that I won’t be able to give you the performance or energy that you all deserve,” she wrote in her statement. “You guys deserve me at my best and that’s not where I am right now.”
While a specific reason for the cancellation and postponement is not given, Tokimonsta continued in her statement that she is currently “safe and healthy, but at this time I need to direct all my energy to a family member who needs my support.”
Tokimonsta’s sixth studio album, Eternal Reverie, was meant to come out on her own Young Art Records label this November 22, with the now cancelled 28-date tour meant to have started this weekend with a performance at San Diego’s CRSSD festival.
In her statement, the artist added that she was struggling with shifting her plans. “I stay grounded knowing you will all hold space for me,” she said. “What I’m dealing with now feels more emotionally taxing and difficult than anything I’ve faced before, even more so than my journey through Moyamoya brain surgery. I hope you can understand how difficult this decision has been because I’ve never paused my music career before.”
In January of 2016, the producer underwent brain surgery for moyamoya, a rare disease caused by blocked arteries at the base of the brain. After the procedure, she needed to relearn how to do things like walking and making music.
Her statement concluded with a request for privacy and space. “I really hope that I’ll come out of this stronger and ready to connect with you all again,” she says.
Read Tokimonsta’s full statement below:
