Adam Merkin is a progressive grad student who becomes an accidental battle rapper after encountering Behn Grymm, a respected icon in the merciless sub-culture of poetic personal insults. As Adam makes his politically-incorrect climb up the ranks, he risks alienating his father, a renowned writer and tenured professor at Adam's university, along with his skeptical girlfriend Maya, and all of his academic friends. His success breeds outrage however; Adam soon faces growing backlash on campus and comes to understand the importance (and cost) of free speech.