Rap

Rap is a recurring topic in Homestuck and its spinoffs.

And It Don't Stop
Andrew Hussie's first work to prominently feature rap was And It Don't Stop. And It Don't Stop ' s protagonist competes in a rap competition in which competitors have robots engage in combat with each other while they perform, known as "Tech-Hop" (after the musical genre hip hop). Rap in And It Don't Stop ' s competitions is graded based on two key components; "Shade," a word which the competitor's rap must rhyme with, and "Groove," a topic or theme that the rap must revolve around.

In Homestuck and Hiveswap
Dave and Dirk Strider are the two characters in Homestuck most closely associated with rapping and rap culture, both having learned to rap either from or in order to compete with their parental figures. Dave and Dirk both take advantage of their sylladices in order to take part in weaponised rap battles named HS 1084 (after the Hash Map and Hash Table fetch modii), while Dirk also uses a Tech-Hop fetch modus modelled directly after And It Don't Stop's Shade and Groove components. Dirk has also been known to rap with robots, another reference to And It Don't Stop.

On Alternia
A form of rap known by trolls as slam poetry is considered to be a HS 2825 practiced by both indigo bloods like Equius Zahhak (whose poems on the topic of machinery and musclebeasts are also inspired by And It Don't Stop) and highbloods like Gamzee Makara (a reference to the music of real-life rap group Insane Clown Posse), as well some some lowbloods like Tavros Nitram.

Hiveswap ' s Xefros Tritoh is another lowblood interested in Alternian slam poetry, aspiring to compete in a program called Slam or Get Culled in search of fame.

In Hiveswap: Friendsim
Volume Sixteen of the Hiveswap Friendship Simulator features a slam poetry festival called ClownFest XXwreX at which multiple purple bloods perform, including Slam or Get Culled Grand Champion Marvus Xoloto.