Redemption Songs: A Comicbook History of Chinese Reggae

This comic, originally commissioned for Topic magazine, takes a fresh look at the history of reggae through the lens of migration and identity. It considers the sound’s circular journey, borne out of revolution and slavery, and its resonance around the globe as transcendental riddim.

By highlighting the genre’s intimate connection with Hakka migration, Chinese-Jamaican roots, and global south solidarity, it (re)tells the complex story of word, sound, and power in China. At the heart of it is a simple realization, inspired by the writer David Stubbs: reggae carries not just the glow of nostalgia, but the glow of possible dormant futures that have merely been deferred.  

Suggested Playlist:

• Stephen Cheng - Always Together (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgPTgq-rN3U)
• 李麗芬 - 城市英雄（https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0XX3KAdauk)
• Zhang Chu - The Ant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7VMrlcitrY)
• KAWA - The World Right Way (https://soundcloud.com/kawayunnan/the-world-right-way)

Krish is a comic book artist based in Amsterdam.

His comics have appeared in the New Yorker, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, BBC, Buzzfeed, Quartz, and GQ. He is currently working on a graphic novel with the writer Josh Feola about underground music in Beijing called ‘Open All the Buddha Boxes.’

His work centers on the creative life of Asian mega-cities, the connected histories of alternative music around the Asian continent, and the tension between stated goals and undeclared dispositions in the history of contemporary culture.