[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I am not putting down rap I am simply stating that it is not music.

For evidence I submit that you can not hum it. Music has a melody and sometimes a harmony. Rap lacks both and therefore is not music. Rhythmic chanting but not music.

[Bones75]

Would you consider, say, percussive drumming type music as "music"? I would.

Rap does indeed have melody and harmony, and percussions..

It's has a percussive beat and the bottom layers, then it will usually have a synth line, piano line, (repetitive thought it may be) or some other melody layed over the mass and drums, then then the rhyme often serves as the harmony, as (and you may not believe this) but most rappers rap on pitch. The songs have verses, choruses and often bridges, sometimes key changes.

There may also be samples, etc.. all of which has to blend for it to sound right.

The elements you say it lacks, are indeed present, though they make take a form you don't readily recognize, given your likely musical background.

There is good and bad in everything. Forgive me for the assumption, but I would venture the little bit of rap you've been exposed to has been crap. Most rap that is played on what I call the "kiddie media" (MTV, many FM stations) is crap. The real good stuff is rarely heard.

-Bones