I do listen to rap in my target language (Spanish), although the lyrics tend to be too fast and I don’t get much out of them. I learn more from slower genres, which actually tend to be my taste anyway.

My favourite Spanish rapper is Ana Tijoux.

Amro:

I actually took an elective course in university on the history of hip-hop, although it’s been a really long time and I don’t remember much of anything from it. My understanding is that hip-hop originated in the Bronx, NYC.

Kai:

I have to say, I wholeheartedly disagree. A lot of rap nowadays (especially trap-influenced and reggaeton-influenced rap) puts the focus on the rhythm and flow. I’ve actually heard it said that it should be considered a form of “electronic dance music”, because, well… it’s produced electronically and it makes you dance. Bad Bunny is a perfect example of this. I mean, how is it that he’s become so popular in the US? Most people don’t understand Spanish, but his music makes you dance. His beats are very rhythmic and his flow very sing-songy.

Kai:

You can’t reduce music to melody. There are many other elements, one of the most important of which is rhythm. Rhythm is central to rap. That’s how rappers get their “flow”. Unfortunately, nowadays many rappers have reduced their flow to triplets, which has become trite and overdone. But many still have their unique flow.

So yeah, rapping actually passes your test. Unless you don’t consider percussion instruments to be musical instruments.

Funnily enough, I wrote a notebook entry yesterday about melody vs lyrics in music. I'd say, if someone says a song is good because the lyrics are good, then they are not saying anything about the music. The test is to see whether the song generates an emotional response when you replace the vocals with an instrument. For me, 99% of rap music fails this test, and the remaining 1% consists of excepions that prove the rule.

However, beauty is in the eye (or ear, in this case) of the beholder. There's nothing wrong with liking rap if that's what you're into.

You said that rap cannot be called soulful. I edited my post to add a soulful rap song. I find it strange when people say that rap is “not soulful” and yet it’s a very common opinion among people who aren’t familiar with rap beyond the popular stuff. Most of the rap I listen to is soulful.