Best movies like Straight Outta Compton

Similar in 87%

Lords of Chaos (2018)

Plot Summary:

A teenager's quest to launch Norwegian Black Metal in Oslo in the 1990s results in a very violent outcome.

Similar in 84%

Gully (2019)

Plot Summary:

A slightly dystopian vision of LA, we follow three disaffected teenagers, Jessie, Calvin and Nicky, all victims of extreme childhoods, running supreme hedonistic riot as they try to work out a way in life.

Similar in 86%

Krush Groove (1985)

Plot Summary:

Russell Walker is a young, successful manager of rap performers, handling acts for the Krush Groove label, including Run-DMC and The Fat Boys. When Run-D.M.C. has a hit record and Russell needs more money to press more copies, he borrows it from a street hustler and soon regrets his decision.

Similar in 89%

La Bamba (1987)

Plot Summary:

Biographical story of the rise from nowhere of singer Ritchie Valens whose life was cut short by a plane crash.

Similar in 83%

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Plot Summary:

Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs like "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Are the Champions" and "We Will Rock You" become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.

Similar in 86%

Detroit (2017)

Plot Summary:

A police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest citizens' uprisings in the history of the United States.

Similar in 88%

I'm Not There (2007)

Plot Summary:

Six actors portray six personas of music legend Bob Dylan in scenes depicting various stages of his life, chronicling his rise from unknown folksinger to international icon and revealing how Dylan constantly reinvented himself.

Similar in 84%

Dangerous Minds (1995)

Plot Summary:

Former Marine Louanne Johnson lands a gig teaching in a pilot program for bright but underachieving teens at a notorious inner-city high school. After having a terrible first day, she decides she must throw decorum to the wind. When Johnson returns to the classroom, she does so armed with a no-nonsense attitude informed by her military training and a fearless determination to better the lives of her students -- no matter what the cost.

Similar in 75%

Menace II Society (1993)

Plot Summary:

Menace II Society is a coming of age tale detailing the summer after its protagonist Caine (Tyrin Turner) graduates from high school. This is Caine's story, which details real life in today's tough inner city.

Similar in 87%

Lady Sings the Blues (1972)

Plot Summary:

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday. Her late childhood, stint as a prostitute, early tours, marriages and drug addiction are featured.

Similar in 87%

Ray (2004)

Plot Summary:

Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered couping gospel and country together.

Similar in 83%

Fruitvale Station (2013)

Plot Summary:

The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.

Similar in 86%

What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)

Plot Summary:

A film about the singer Tina Turner and how she rose to stardom with her abusive husband Ike Turner and how she gained the courage to break free.

Similar in 78%

Get on Up (2014)

Plot Summary:

A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.

Similar in 79%

Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998)

Plot Summary:

In the mid-80s, three women (each with an attorney) arrive at the office of New York entertainment manager, Morris Levy. One is an L.A. singer, formerly of the Platters; one is a petty thief from Philly; one teaches school in a small Georgia town. Each claims to be the widow of long-dead doo-wop singer-songwriter Frankie Lyman, and each wants years of royalties due to his estate, money Levy has never shared. During an ensuing civil trial, flashbacks tell the story of each one's life with Lyman, a boyish, high-pitched, dynamic performer, lost to heroin. Slowly, the three wives establish their own bond.

Similar in 86%

Selena (1997)

Plot Summary:

In this biographical drama, Selena Quintanilla is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham, realizes that his young daughter is talented and begins performing with her at small venues. She finds success and falls for her guitarist, Chris Perez, who draws the ire of her father. Seeking mainstream stardom, Selena begins recording an English-language album which, tragically, she would never complete.

Similar in 81%

The Doors (1991)

Plot Summary:

The story of the famous and influential 1960's rock band and its lead singer and composer, Jim Morrison.

Similar in 87%

Boyz n the Hood (1991)

Plot Summary:

Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.

Similar in 87%

All Eyez on Me (2017)

Plot Summary:

All Eyez on Me chronicles the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, including his rise to superstardom as a hip-hop artist, actor, poet and activist, as well as his imprisonment and prolific, controversial time at Death Row Records. Against insurmountable odds, Tupac rose to become a cultural icon whose career and persona both continue to grow long after his passing.

Similar in 79%

Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005)

Plot Summary:

A tale of an inner city drug dealer who turns away from crime to pursue his passion, rap music.

Similar in 76%

Friday (1995)

Plot Summary:

Craig and Smokey are two guys in Los Angeles hanging out on their porch on a Friday afternoon, smoking and drinking, looking for something to do.

Similar in 83%

8 Mile (2002)

Plot Summary:

The setting is Detroit in 1995. The city is divided by 8 Mile, a road that splits the town in half along racial lines. A young white rapper, Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. summons strength within himself to cross over these arbitrary boundaries to fulfill his dream of success in hip hop. With his pal Future and the three one third in place, all he has to do is not choke.

Similar in 82%

Hustle & Flow (2005)

Plot Summary:

With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.

Similar in 84%

Talk to Me (2007)

Plot Summary:

The story of Washington D.C. radio personality Ralph "Petey" Greene, an ex-con who became a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960s.

Similar in 77%

Cry Freedom (1987)

Plot Summary:

A dramatic story, based on actual events, about the friendship between two men struggling against apartheid in South Africa in the 1970s. Donald Woods is a white liberal journalist in South Africa who begins to follow the activities of Stephen Biko, a courageous and outspoken black anti-apartheid activist.

Similar in 85%

Selma (2014)

Plot Summary:

"Selma," as in Alabama, the place where segregation in the South was at its worst, leading to a march that ended in violence, forcing a famous statement by President Lyndon B. Johnson that ultimately led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act.

Similar in 82%

Green Book (2018)

Plot Summary:

Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.

Similar in 90%

American Gangster (2007)

Plot Summary:

Following the death of his employer and mentor, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Lucas establishes himself as the number one importer of heroin in the Harlem district of Manhattan. He does so by buying heroin directly from the source in South East Asia and he comes up with a unique way of importing the drugs into the United States. Based on a true story.

Similar in 84%

Notorious (2009)

Plot Summary:

NOTORIOUS is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time; THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream.".

Similar in 83%

Malcolm X (1992)

Plot Summary:

A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.