Top 10 Netflix Movies About the Struggle

The come up, starting from the bottom, the struggle. Call it what you like, few narratives are as ingrained in hip-hop as the one of pulling yourself up from nothing. Up until about ten years ago, the depth of your struggle determined how real your music was, how far you could get.

But the come up has never belonged exclusively to hip-hop. It’s just the cultural movement that institutionalized the struggle, giving voice, specifically, to people of color (and rightfully so). So for everyone who loves seeing grit, will, and sheer audacity triumph, we have compiled a list of Netflix’s best streaming films that chronicle the come up.

Finish off your weekend with some inspirational stories to get you pumped for your own week. They aren’t all about hip-hop, but they’ll leave you just as moved.

This one is the story of a whole region’s come up. It starts in Rico Wade’s mom’s basement and ends with Atlanta’s domination over the rap game. The Art of Organized Noize is a documentary that recounts Organized Noize’s formation and the details behind some of their biggest music. It includes interviews with the producers themselves, music executives, and several artists (including André 3000 and 2 Chainz). With Southern rap where it is today, this film is a good opportunity to brush up on your history.

This indie film never found big distribution (but did win an award at Sundance). John Boyega plays Bambi, a man recently released from prison who is set on reconnecting with his young son and avoiding the trappings of gang-life that got him locked up to begin with. It’s a reminder of how the prison and legal systems collude to make rehabilitation nearly impossible.

We are being pretty flexible with the definition of come up on this one (“struggle” is more accurate). This film, based on an award-winning novel of the same name, stars Viggo Mortensen as a man travelling with his son in the aftermath of nuclear apocalypse. Moving on foot, they live day-to-day, scavenging food and avoiding bandits, and along the way he teaches his son how to survive.

In 1975, one of the NBA’s most talented players was born to a 15-year-old mother in Hampton Virginia. This documentary fills out the details of a man who, since high school, has been surrounded by rumors and misinformation. It follows his rise from abject poverty to controversial NBA superstar.

Borrowing the title of 50 Cent’s debut album (and his life story), this drama-film depicts the life of Marcus Greer. Much like 50 Cent, he comes from a background of violence and drug dealing, but resolves to escape this lifestyle through music.

Not every struggle becomes a come up. Sadly, most of them never do. But that doesn’t mean it’s a struggle worth forgetting. Fruitvale Station stars Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant, a man unjustly killed by police in Oakland in 2009. It depicts the last day of his life as he tries to get his life back on track following a short prison stint. This award-winning film humanizes him in a way that every victim of police brutality deserves to be.

Lion is based on a crazy true story about an Indian boy, Saroo, who becomes separated from his brother in the middle of the night at a train station. He ends up thousands of miles away from his village, living on the streets until he is adopted by an Australian couple. What follows is his attempts, as an adult, to track his family.

Dr. Dre once said, “Anybody can get it, the hard part is keepin’ it”. The rise and fall of Big Meech, Black Mafia’s kingpin, is a case study in this truth. This 80-minute documentary explores his organization’s formation, its forays into hip-hop promotion, and the FBI investigation that brought them down.

Everyone loves an outlaw. That might be why there are three big (and highly recommended) shows about drug kingpins on Netflix right now. While Narcos is a series, it’s detailed examination of Pablo Escobar’s rise from poverty merits inclusion on this list. On the topic, El Chapo and the other Pablo Escobar series are great for people interested in crime biopics.

This historical drama takes place in 19th century New York City. Before mafia and cartels, there were neighborhood gangs. It’s the story of an Irish-American boy orphaned after his father is killed by the leader of their rival gang. After leaving the city, he returns as an adult to get revenge.