What gives?

[violet-helix.livejournal.com]

I'm just curious to see if anyone knows what's up with Hip Hopz Clothing & Apparel (yup, they sell both) on the corner of Highland & Lowell.  

I live right across the street and I don't think I've EVER seen them open.  Not that I'm looking to build a funky new wardrobe, but I can't help but wonder what's up. 

Comments

[georgy.livejournal.com]

Haha, once I was on the 88 and these young wannabe hip hop kids in baggy jeans and sideways caps (they were about 10 years old) got off the bus and went to the Hip Hopz store... only to discover they were, of course, closed. They looked pretty bummed.

[komos.livejournal.com]

Clearly, it's a front for the Bavarian Illuminati

...not to be confused with the bowling alley in Ball Square, which is a recreational outpost for the Gnomes of Zurich. They don't bowl there... they just roll around in kiddie pools filled with $100 bills.

[ron_newman]

The Somerville News published this article about the store last May. The comments are highly amusing.

ever so slightly OT

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

I dunno, some of those comments strike me as very "Those crazy kids and their crazy hippity hop music!!" or "Damn those kids and their rock and rolls!" While Ho's in Different Area Codes may not exactly be culturally ground-breaking, groups like Public Enemy (as was mentioned) were.

Plus, that one guy was right: people are making millions and millions of dollars on street culture clothes, music, etc.

Re: ever so slightly OT

[ron_newman]

OK, so I'm a crotchety old man, but I can't see how selling a shirt that says "Pimp Stars" on it is doing much good for our city.

Re: ever so slightly OT

[closetalker11.livejournal.com]

Hahaha!! No, it's definitely not. Neither is "I get $." If they can sell it, though, they will.

But if they're never open, the can't sell it to begin with.

Maybe we should make LJ Stars shirts in response.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

I love that store solely for the reason that over the summer, on their hours (which were obviously a lie as I too have NEVER seen it open) it said WE DA BEST

[forgotten-aria.livejournal.com]

I don't know this for sure, but for a while that store front was owned by caspair or something like that, which is acutally a retail management school that uses it's store fronts to get people actual on the job training of running a store. I just assumed, given the temporary nature of the signs and the store that this was another such venture, but I might be wrong, given how long it's been there.

I live a block away and am also suprised by how little it seems to be open and how no one is ever in there.

[exsplusohs.livejournal.com]

I dream of the day that this place is open...It seems like a total LOLmine. And a great place to find a purple pleather tube dress, or something similar.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

I don't know if it's owned by CASPAR or not, but CASPAR does own the small re-sale store near the corner of Highland and Central. CASPAR has been around for years, and they do a lot of good work. The acronym stands for: Cambridge and Somerville Program for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Rehabilitation. Their web site doesn't mention a second store.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

LOL, I don't know but I drive past that store very frequently (I live on Lowell Street) and every damn time I see the sign, I'm like, "clothing AND apparel, bitches!" hee hee.

My mom claims that it is "Hip Hop 2" rather than "Hip Hopz," but she's probably on crack. ;)

[fefie.livejournal.com]

CASPAR did briefly have a shop at that location, but that was prior to the hair salon that preceded Hip Hopz. There had been bad flooding problems/damage in the basement when CASPAR was there.

I too have never seen it open.

Thanks for the link to the entertaining thread on Somerville News about the shop. Some of those posts had me rolling on the floor. The last comment (about Dolly's) sent me down memory lane ...