By George P. Hassett

The cultural movement that was born in the South Bronx and grew to change the world finally has a spot in Somerville. Last week, at the corner of Highland Avenue and Lowell Street, Hip Hopz Clothing opened and became the first ever hip hop store in Somerville.

“We started it because there was nowhere for us to shop around here,” said the Broadway-born and raised Olly Ravelo who owns the store along with Michael Gregory, a Roxbury transplant now living in Somerville. “Before, people from Somerville looking for hip hop fashion had to go Downtown or to Central Square for what they need, now it’s down the street.”

So Gregory and Ravelo hatched a plan to fulfill the fashion needs of every local hip hopper from lower Broadway to North Street. They said they will do it by bringing the real, pure hip hop to their store.

“We called it Hip Hopz not ‘rapz’ because we’re about the culture of it. We’re from the days of creativity and originality not these hardcore times,” Gregory said.

Hip Hopz features the staples of today’s urban fashion with brands such as Sean John and NYCE, but will also sell hard to get, exclusive items that will make the hip hop fashion junky drool, he said.

"We want stuff no other store has. We’ll have stuff on our shelves that you’re not going to see on too many other people. But we’re going to have the clothes your favorite rappers are rapping about too. And all at a decent price people in the neighborhood can afford,” he said.

One line Hip Hopz will be the only ones pushing is Wop-On clothing, a brand owned by Gregory and Ravelo. Wop-On shirts feature hip hop designs surrounding slogans such as, “Pimp Stars” and “I get $.” Gregory started the line in honor of his fallen friend “Wop” and initially distributed it out of the back of his car, “just bopping out the trunk, but people loved it.”

Before the Wop-On venture, Gregory said his most important fashion experience was being the local style icon of his Roxbury neighborhood and “dressing flavorful and original every time I left the house.”

Gregory was a sneaker addict who thought nothing of dropping $500 on footwear before a girlfriend told him he should make a profit from his personal fashion sense.

‚ÄúI was a shopaholic so I figured, ‚Äòlet me put this thing I got to use and get my own store,‚Äô‚Äù he said.   

The store itself is sparse and still waiting to be filled with products but the dedication to hip hop is easily seen. On the walls are airbrushed paintings of cultural icons such as 2Pac and Nas, in the far corner is two turntables and the dressing room is equipped with a microphone  With Hip Hopz planted firmly on the corner of Highland Avenue, Gregory said he wants the store to be an ambassador of authentic hip hop culture to the surrounding neighborhood.

‚ÄúAll of this is fresh and brand new to us. We‚Äôre happy to have the neighborhood come in here and look around. They‚Äôre learning to appreciate what we can bring them and we‚Äôre learning to appreciate what they can bring us. It‚Äôs a good look all around, a beautiful thing, like hip hop itself,‚Äù he said.