The Chi returned to Showtime for its fifth season on June 26, 2022, delivering ten emotionally charged episodes set against the South Side of Chicago. The cast — led by Jacob Latimore, Alex R. Hibbert, Yolonda Ross, Shamon Brown Jr., and Birgundi Baker — navigated love, loss, community politics, and personal reinvention through the lens of Lena Waithe’s acclaimed drama. At the heart of it all, as in previous seasons, was the music. Season 5 handed score duties to Wyclef Jean, continuing his work from Season 4, while Derryck “Big Tank” Thornton returned as music supervisor to curate the show’s rich catalog of Chicago R&B, hip-hop, gospel, and soul. Together, they shaped one of the most music-driven seasons in the show’s history.
The Chi Season 5 Soundtrack Details
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Series | The Chi |
| Season | 5 |
| Creator | Lena Waithe |
| Network | Showtime |
| Production Companies | Fox 21 Television Studios, Freedom Road Productions, ArsenalFX Color |
| Season Premiere | June 26, 2022 |
| Season Finale | September 4, 2022 |
| Episodes | 10 |
| Composer | Wyclef Jean |
| Music Supervisor | Derryck “Big Tank” Thornton |
| Official Score Album | Not released |
| Total Licensed Songs (Season 5) | 110+ |
The Chi Season 5 Soundtrack Overview
The fifth season of The Chi marked Wyclef Jean‘s second consecutive year scoring the Showtime drama, having joined the show at Season 4. His scoring approach for Season 5 leaned heavily into jazz fusion — a term he has described as self-expression rooted in his formal music education. In interviews, Jean explained that he builds each character’s musical identity as its own compositional thread, weaving them together as the season evolves.
Music supervisor Derryck “Big Tank” Thornton anchored the licensed music side of the equation. An SVP at Sony Music and one of the most in-demand supervisors in Black television, Thornton has worked on The Chi across all of its seasons (2018–2025). His philosophy for Season 5 was explicitly tied to Chicago’s distinct musical geography — House music, Stepping, Drill, R&B — while also using the show as a platform to surface lesser-known and emerging artists alongside occasional legacy placements.
No standalone score album for Season 5 has been officially released as of the time of publication.
Who Composed The Chi Season 5?
Wyclef Jean served as the composer for The Chi Season 5, following his work on Season 4. He was brought onto the series by creator Lena Waithe, who had heard him rescore her film Queen & Slim out of personal passion for the craft.
Born on October 17, 1969, in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, Wyclef Jean emigrated to the United States at age nine and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and Newark, New Jersey. A self-taught multi-instrumentalist who plays over fifteen instruments, Jean rose to international fame as the co-founder and lead producer of The Fugees — the hip-hop trio he formed with Lauryn Hill and Pras Michel in the early 1990s.
The Fugees’ second album, The Score (1996), became one of the best-selling albums of all time, earning two Grammy Awards — Best Rap Album and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group for “Killing Me Softly.” Jean accepted the Grammy Award draped in a Haitian flag, a moment that became iconic for the Haitian diaspora. In total, Wyclef Jean has won three Grammy Awards across his career.
His 1997 solo debut, Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival, sold nearly nine million copies worldwide and spawned hits including “We Trying to Stay Alive” and “Gone till November.” As a producer and collaborator, he has worked with Whitney Houston, Santana, Shakira, Destiny’s Child, and dozens of others.
In 2021, Jean co-founded SodoMoodLab, a jingle and scoring company, marking his formal pivot into film and television composition. He subsequently joined The Chi as composer beginning with Season 4. His stated approach to the show’s score is “jazz fusion” — compositions that move freely between classical structure and street-level sonic vernacular, designed to complement rather than compete with the show’s dense licensed music selections.
Lena Waithe has praised his work directly, noting that he taps into the emotion of a scene and pulls viewers in with score that serves the story rather than overpowering it.
Wyclef Jean — Composer Filmography
| Title | Year | Role | Platform / Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Fugees: The Score | 1996 | Producer / Performer | Ruffhouse / Columbia |
| The Carnival | 1997 | Artist / Producer | Columbia Records |
| Hotel Rwanda | 2004 | Original Song (“Million Voices”) | United Artists |
| Queen & Slim | 2019 | Rescore (personal project) | Universal |
| The Chi (Seasons 4–5) | 2021–2022 | Composer | Showtime / Fox Music |
| The Chi (Season 6) | 2023 | Composer | Showtime / Fox Music |
The Chi Season 5 Official Score Tracklist
No standalone score album for The Chi Season 5 has been officially released on any streaming platform or physical label. Wyclef Jean’s original score was composed and recorded specifically for the show and embedded within individual episodes, but has not been issued separately as a soundtrack album.
This is consistent with the approach taken in prior seasons of The Chi. If an official release becomes available, this article will be updated accordingly.
Score Highlights
Wyclef Jean‘s composing approach in Season 5 was character-driven. He built thematic sketches around the show’s primary figures — Emmett, Victor/Trig, Kiesha, Jake, Papa — and developed them across the ten-episode arc, adding instrumentation as storylines thickened. In interviews conducted around Season 4, Jean described the process of scoring scenes backward from the music supervisor’s licensed selections, ensuring his cues and the needle drops gel rather than clash.
Notable scoring moments across the season include the emotional throughlines in Jada and Darnell’s storyline, the tension cues surrounding Douda’s political ambitions, and the quieter, more intimate underscoring during Kiesha’s college and motherhood arc. Jean’s jazz fusion palette — combining live instrumentation, gospel undertones, and melodic fragments drawn from Chicago’s blues tradition — gave the season a tonal sophistication that sat just beneath the surface of the show’s more overtly hip-hop-forward needle drops.
The season finale, “I am the Blues” (September 4, 2022), makes its musical statement explicit from the episode title itself, with score and song selections converging around themes of endurance and transformation.
The Chi Season 5 Licensed Songs — Needle Drops by Episode
Tunefind data for Season 5 indicates over 110 confirmed licensed tracks across the ten episodes. A representative selection of confirmed placements is listed below.
Episode 1 — “Overnight Celebrity” (June 26, 2022)
| Song | Artist | Scene Context |
|---|---|---|
| “N Love” | Penzilla | Jemma in bed, reminiscing over Jake and Kevin |
| “Diamonds out the Dirt” | Z. Rich | Jake struggles at basketball tryouts |
| “Make it Right” | Breana ft. Alonda Rich | Breakfast scene |
| “I Wish” | Carl Thomas | Emmett sings along at his desk |
| “Undertaker” | Montana of 300 | End credits |
Episode 2 — “Oh Girl” (July 3, 2022) (Music Supervisor Verified)
| Song | Artist | Scene Context |
|---|---|---|
| “It’s Whatever” | BChe | Trig at the Rock Center with Shaad and Tracy |
| “Truly Yours” | Breana Marin | Tiff arrives at her mother’s house |
| “Fix This Heart” | Young Pete | Shaad attempts to get Deja’s number |
| “Reminiscence” | BChe | Tiff and Kiesha hanging out in the dorms |
| “You Changed” | Talon Haynes | Peaches and Jake eat at Smokey’s |
| “Blocks and Boroughs” | Coast Contra | Trig wrestles with Peaches re-entering his life |
| “Help Me” | P Wayne | Emmett realizes he’s late to pick up EJ |
| “Credit” | Tommy Will, Mickey Shiloh | Emmett calls Tiff; she hangs up |
| “Bonnie and Bonnie (Bestfriend)” | Aint Afraid | Kiesha and Tiff dancing at a club |
| “The Sun is Gone” | Cicero | Jada and Suede in bed |
Episode 3 — “This Christmas” (July 10, 2022) (Music Supervisor Verified)
| Song | Artist | Scene Context |
|---|---|---|
| “Silent Night” | Marlon Coles | Darnell takes selfies to send to Jada |
| “Happy Holiday” | Peter Caines | Emmett decorates his Christmas tree |
| “Under the Mistletoe” | Diamond | Tracy and Victor thank Douda for his generosity |
| “O Come Let Us Adore Him” | Keli Lewis | Papa’s followers turn on him |
| “Jingle Bells” | Penzilla | Kiesha and Emmett FaceTime |
| “Tonite” | J’Von, Tim Dugga | Girls’ night at Nina and Dre’s |
| “Everyday Christmas” | Trinity | Skating rink scene |
| “Boolin’ (I’m Ready)” | Blair Perkins | Kevin and Simone on a date |
| “Joy to the World” | Ife | Ladies’ night in full swing |
| “Love Is in the Air” | Lena DeVor | Kiesha arrives at Emmett’s and brings order |
Episode 4 — “On Me” (July 17, 2022)
| Song | Artist | Scene Context |
|---|---|---|
| “Take Up Space Sis” | Toni Jones | Episode opening |
| “a lot” | 21 Savage | Freestyle battle scene |
| “Woman Like Me” | Francci | — |
| “Outsiders” | YSN Hazel | — |
| “Make it Go MMMMMM” | She Go Hard | — |
| “Feeling It Now” | Mike City | — |
| “Ain’t Got Enough Money” | Noonie, Penzilla | — |
| “Upgrade U” | 7AE | — |
| “Black Bottles (Remaster)” | Titi Lokei | — |
| “Troo” | Langston Bristol, Curtis Roach | — |
Episode 5 — “We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off” (July 24, 2022)
| Song | Artist | Scene Context |
|---|---|---|
| “Rain on Me” | King Quin, La’Keith Rashad | — |
| “Wrapped Up” | Chrystophersen | Shaad and Deja talking in bed |
| “Mind, Body, Soul” | Brittany | Victor meets up with Fatima |
| “What Else (feat. Smino)” | Siya | — |
| “Uh Huh” | Dre Truth | — |
| “Life (I Cry)” | b Che | — |
| “To The Moon” | Remey Williams | — |
| “Pressure” | Langston Bristol | — |
| “Look At Us” | Bravo, Immortal Girlfriend | — |
| “Best Advice” | Davion Farris | — |
Episode 6 — “Bring It on Home to Me” (July 31, 2022)
| Song | Artist | Scene Context |
|---|---|---|
| “Freak or What” | Davion Farris | Episode opening scenes |
| “She Bad” | Genesis, Maisha | — |
| “Buss It Down To The Ground” | Noonie, Penzilla | — |
| “Belly of the Beast” | Mr. Wavy | — |
| “No Noise” | Chipps | — |
| “War Ready” | Automatic the Cannibal | — |
| “Family Strong” | Genesis, Maisha | — |
| “Sofa” | Felisha Fury | — |
| “Feels Like This” | Marlon Coles | — |
| “Tell The Truth” | b Che | — |
Episode 8 — “Sweet Thing” (August 14, 2022)
| Song | Artist | Scene Context |
|---|---|---|
| “Can You Do It for Me?” | Jai’Len Josey | — |
| “Be Honest” | Love Pulse Music ft. Alonda Rich | Emmett and Kiesha talking in the kitchen |
| “If You’d Knew” | Jai’Len Josey | — |
| “Offline” | Bri Feel | — |
| “Kandy Coat” | Kris the $pirit, BEATCAVE, Jazzfeezy | — |
| “FWDB” | P Wayne | — |
| “Never Leave” | Davion Farris | — |
| “Tunnel Vision” | Davion Farris | — |
| “Just For Me” | Remey Williams | — |
| “No Sleep (Interlude)” | Frank Vocals | — |
Episode 10 — “I am the Blues” (September 4, 2022) — Season Finale
| Song | Artist | Scene Context |
|---|---|---|
| “Smiling Faces Sometimes” | The Undisputed Truth | Season finale opening |
| “Runaway” | BChe | — |
| “Mornin” | P Wayne | — |
| “No ID” | Alonda Rich | — |
| “Together” | Siya, CS Armstrong, Cynthia Erivo | — |
| “Southern Delicacy” | Jai’Len Josey | — |
| “Fleeky” | Butta | — |
| “Memoirs of the Realist (feat. Z. Rich)” | Love Pulse Music | Victor discovers Jake made campaign merchandise |
| “One Hour Jet” | Bud’da | — |
| “Tunnel Vision” | Davion Farris | Darnell and Jada conclude their vows; flower toss |
Where to Listen to The Chi Season 5 Soundtrack?
The Chi Season 5 is available to stream on Paramount+ with Showtime and the Showtime app. No standalone score album from Wyclef Jean has been released for this season. Many of the licensed songs featured throughout the season are available individually on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, and Showtime maintained a curated weekly playlist on Spotify during the original broadcast run to highlight each episode’s music selections. Fans looking for specific tracks can use Tunefind’s verified episode-by-episode index for Season 5.
FAQs
Who composed The Chi Season 5 score?
Wyclef Jean composed the original score for Season 5. He joined the show as composer beginning with Season 4, working alongside music supervisor Derryck “Big Tank” Thornton.
Who was the music supervisor for The Chi Season 5?
Derryck “Big Tank” Thornton served as music supervisor. An SVP at Sony Music, Thornton supervised the show from its first season through its later run and is credited across all Season 5 episodes on IMDb.
Has an official score album been released for Season 5?
No. As of the time of publication, Wyclef Jean‘s original score for Season 5 has not been released as a standalone album on any platform.
How many songs are in The Chi Season 5?
Season 5 featured over 110 licensed songs across its 10 episodes, making it one of the most musically dense seasons of the series.
What is the most recognizable song in Season 5?
“Smiling Faces Sometimes” by The Undisputed Truth is the most widely recognized licensed track from the season, featured in the finale. “Tunnel Vision” by Davion Farris also recurs across multiple episodes and is among the season’s most-discussed placements.
Where can I watch The Chi Season 5?
The Chi Season 5 is available on Paramount+ with Showtime. All 10 episodes are currently available to stream.
What genre of music defines The Chi Season 5 soundtrack?
The season’s licensed music spans Chicago-rooted R&B, hip-hop, Drill, gospel, and soul, with a strong emphasis on emerging and independent artists. The original score by Wyclef Jean draws from jazz fusion, incorporating live instrumentation alongside Chicago blues influences.