Movies like Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop (2019)
The best movies like Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop (2019) are Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012), Biggie & Tupac (2002) and Tupac: Resurrection (2003). If Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBeastie Boys Story (2020)7.5/10 from 203 votes
- NewestHomeys (2026)Released 2026
Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012)
SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP is a feature length performance documentary about the runaway juggernaut that is Rap music. At the wheel of this unstoppable beast is the film's director and interviewer Ice-T. Taking us on a deeply personal journey Ice-T uncovers how this music of the street has grown to dominate the world. Along the way Ice-T meets a whole spectrum of Hip-Hop talent, from founders, to new faces, to the global superstars like Eminem, Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Kanye West. He exposes the roots and history of Rap and then, through meeting many of its most famous protagonists, studies the living mechanism of the music to reveal 'The Art Of Rap'. This extraordinary film features unique performances from the entire cast, without resorting to archive material, to build a fresh and surprising take on the phenomenon that is Rap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBiggie & Tupac (2002)
In 1997, rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G.) were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTupac: Resurrection (2003)
Home movies, photographs, and recited poetry illustrate the life of Tupac Shakur, one of the most beloved, revolutionary, and volatile hip-hop MCs of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBiggie: I Got a Story to Tell (2021)
Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G., remains one of Hip-Hop’s icons, renowned for his distinctive flow and autobiographical lyrics. This documentary celebrates his life via rare behind-the-scenes footage and the testimonies of his closest friends and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnd of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003)
A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all members of the band's various lineups, and new interviews with a number of their contemporaries, the film traces the peaks and valleys the band experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeats Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest (2011)
Having forged a 20-year run as one of the most innovative and influential hip hop bands of all time, the Queens NY collective known as 'A Tribe Called Quest' have kept a generation hungry for more of their groundbreaking music since their much publicized breakup in 1998. Michael Rapaport documents the inner workings and behind the scenes drama that follows the band to this day. He explores what's next for, what many claim, are the pioneers of alternative rap.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeastie Boys Story (2020)
Here's a little story they're about to tell... Mike Diamond and Adam Horovitz share the story of their band and 40 years of friendship in a live documentary experience directed by friend, collaborator, and their former grandfather, Spike Jonze.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbove Majestic (2018)
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrips and Bloods: Made in America (2009)
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)
A musical study of Los Angeles in the late 90s, where homeless teens roam the streets and profess to live a punk lifestyle of music, drugs, and flouting authority.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLemmy (2010)
Over four decades, Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister has registered an immeasurable impact on music history. Nearly 65, he remains the living embodiment of the rock and roll lifestyle, and this feature-length documentary tells his story, one of a hard-living rock icon who continues to enjoy the life of a man half his age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDownloaded (2013)
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaft Punk Unchained (2015)
Daft Punk Unchained is the first film about the pop culture phenomenon that is Daft Punk, the duo with 12 million albums sold worldwide and seven Grammy Awards. Throughout their career Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have always resisted compromise and the established codes of show business. They have remained determined to maintain control of every link in the chain of their creative process. In the era of globalisation and social networks, they rarely speak in public and neither do they show their faces on TV. This documentary explores this unprecedented cultural revolution revealing a duo of artists on a permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (2020)
The story of the triumphs and hurdles of brothers Barry, Maurice, and Robin Gibb, otherwise known as the Bee Gees. The iconic trio, who found early fame in the 1960s, went on to write over 1,000 songs and have 20 No. 1 hits throughout their career, transcending more than five decades of changing tastes and styles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurder to Mercy: The Cyntoia Brown Story (2020)
After 16-year-old Cyntoia Brown is sentenced to life in prison, questions about her past, physiology and the law itself call her guilt into question.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013)
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStrip Down, Rise Up (2021)
The feature documentary follows women of all walks of life, all ages and ethnic backgrounds, as they shed trauma, body image shame, sexual abuse and other issues locked in their bodies, and embark on a journey to reclaim themselves. The film also gives a rare window into the world of Pole artistry and expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Repair Shop (2024)
In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisO Rap Pelo Rap (2014)
To do this documentary, the director Pedro Henrique Fávero featured 42 characters - among MCs, DJs and producers - to make a detailed map of its kind in the country. Without mincing words, they speak openly here about 8 topics proposed by the film and try to understand Hip Hop in Brazil. The result is a collection of stories from a lot of fighting, where there are many eternal start-end-start, overcoming the difficulties of being understood and feeling of belonging to a group and many clichés.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Asia Rising: The Next Generation of Hip-Hop (2019)
With the help of record label 88rising, we look through the eyes six different artist from six different backgrounds, all within Asia, as they share their thoughts on the recent rise of hip-hop throughout the region.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Jo dzīve ir batls (2026)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Aqui Favela, o Rap Representa (2003)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Khali, La Nouvelle VOIX du Rap Français ! ( documentaire ) (2025)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Stans (2025)
A revealing, edgy, and disarmingly personal journey into the world of superfandom, told through the lens of one of the world's most iconic and enduring artists, Eminem, and the fans that worship him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHigh Landz (TBA)
High up in the Northern California mountains there is a place, where not too many get to visit. Its called - The Emerald Triangle, real mecca of Americas cannabis game. Follow a ukrainian journalist Luka on a journey that explores lifes of real growers and hustlers and the dangers that come with it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Homeys (2026)
Set against the backdrop of Hollywood, Homeys follows four unhoused artists in Los Angeles fighting to survive while chasing their creative dreams.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
SpeedfreakS: Psicopata Camarada (2021)
A documentary on the life and work of Brazilian rapper Cláudio Márcio de Sousa Santos, aka Speedfreak$.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Don't Call It Road Rap - A Noisey Film (2017)
After 'Skepta: Top Boy' and 'Noisey Blackpool' comes our latest UK documentary - Don’t Call It Road Rap hosted by legend of UK music, Mike Skinner. 'Don’t Call It Road Rap' was filmed around London over a year, investigating the explosion of UK rap and follows some of the most important MCs as they try to focus on music and keep their lives on a positive track. The film features the likes of Section Boyz, C Biz, 67, Corleone, Potter Payper and Skore Beezy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop?
The closest matches to Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop are Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012), Biggie & Tupac (2002) and Tupac: Resurrection (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop?
Start with Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012), the closest match to Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop.
What is the highest-rated movie like Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop?
Beastie Boys Story (2020), rated 7.5/10 by 203 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop?
Homeys (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop?
Yes: Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap (2012), Biggie & Tupac (2002) and Tupac: Resurrection (2003).
How are movies similar to Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Set in the West: The Genesis of L.A. Hip Hop, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.