Kim was born in South Korea. For high school, she decided to go overseas, and attended
Leonia High School in
New Jersey. While attending high school in 2011, she heard about the New York City auditions for the South Korean singing competition
Superstar K3. She asked a fellow Korean student Do Dae-yoon, who was known as a great guitarist at the school, to audition together, even though she did not know him well. He agreed, and they formed the band Togeworl. Togeworl managed to pass the audition, and flew to
Seoul to compete. The duo were successful, and were picked to be mentored by singer-songwriter
Yoon Jong-shin. Eventually they finished third in the competition, after
Ulala Session and
Busker Busker. After the competition, Kim and Do remained in South Korea, where they continued to receive musical training, and signed a contract with
Mystic89. and released two songs for the soundtrack, "Two Months" and "Love U Like U," which was a duet with
L from the boyband
Infinite. Though Togeworl planned to debut in 2013, member Do Dae-yoon had to return to the United States, due to issues with high school. Because of this, it was decided Kim should debut as a solo artist before reuniting as a duo. Then, she released a second extended play in September,
Her Voice, and a full-length album in November called
Goodbye 20. In April 2015, she released her third extended play,
Simple Mind. The track "Awoo" was the only K-pop song included on
Spins 101 Best Songs of 2015, coming in at No. 51. In the article, Andrew Unterberger praised the song, saying "no [American] pop song this year
breathed like this Korean emoji of a pop song" and calling it "a kinetic environment bursting with creativity, synthesis, and an intrinsic passion".
Billboards 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2015 ranked the song at No. 8, claiming that Kim outdid herself and praising the song's "mix of woozy synths, trance-like chants, and trappy snares [...] pulled off with a sense of sophistication that's hard to make believable." On May 30, 2016, Mystic Entertainment posted an official statement announcing Kim's departure from the label after her contract has ended. After an over-three-year hiatus, Lim Kim released "Sal-ki", her first published song as a rapper, on May 24, 2019. Her new EP
Generasian was released
independently on October 15, 2019.
Generasian won the award for Best Dance & Electronic Album and "Sal-ki" won Best Dance & Electronic Song at the 2020
Korean Music Awards. On December 9, 2021, Kim signed a contract with New Entry. == Artistry ==