The music and fashion industries have gone hand in hand for decades. From artists starting their own clothing lines, to fashion brands acquiring artists to be the face of their product, the two worlds constantly intertwine. Today we're going to spotlight a rising movement, Reclaim Clique Clothing, a brand inspired by the Hip-Hop culture.

Reclaim Clique Clothing's mission is "to provide high quality, affordable apparel with a new style that appeals to creative people of all cliques and lifestyles," and there motto is "Seek. Recover. Reclaim." This is the go to brand for the true and loyal Hip-Hop head, because they are on the move to reclaim Hip-Hop!

Besides showing their products via there website, they also chronicle the evolution of Hip-Hop history. Each of their current clothing designs focus on various elements in Hop-Hop including BBoying, Sound System, Graffiti, MC, DJ, First Death, Gangs, and 7 Mile.

Yo! Raps caught up with one of the creators of Reclaim Clique Clothing and discussed the creation of the brand, what artist best represents them, and where Reclaim Clique Clothing will go in the future!

How did the Reclaim Clique clothing line come about?

I started Reclaim Clique Clothing in early 2008 with two close friends that I met while attending Penn State University. We wanted to take our passion for music and turn it into a viable business. We felt that mainstream Hip-Hop was losing touch with the music, history, and culture that started it all, which is why our first line, called The Evolution of Hip-Hop, graphically chronicles the story of Hip-Hop from its beginning until present day.

Why was the name Reclaim Clique chosen to represent this style?

The name Reclaim Clique was chosen to represent the different cliques around the world. We know that music is a huge part of everybody's life, and every clique has their own music. Our clothing company allows each clique to "Wear Their Music". Our future lines will include clothing that targets the culture of Hip-Hop in different geographic locations around the world. Every city has its own style, and we want to incorporate that into our ideas. Hip-Hop is much more than what's played on the radio. It includes the underground guys selling their mixtapes on the corners as well as the big names like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne. Reclaim Clique is meant to represent Hip-Hop as a whole- something that is rarely done today.

Reclaim Clique is based out of Washington D.C, so is the clothing inspired at all by the D.C culture?

D.C. has definitely influenced Matthew Tsoy and myself. We have both lived in the D.C. area for most of our lives, and have been immersed in the culture as long as we could remember. Barry Gessner is from the Philadelphia area and brings a different view to the table. Tsoy and I want to help put D.C. on the map as an emerging city in the Hip-Hop world. D.C. has been relatively quiet in the Hip-Hop world with the exception of our very own Wale. We want to help bring D.C. to the forefront of the Hip-Hop world.

Talk about the Reclaim Clique team. How many people are working with the company and what element does each person bring to the table?

We currently have four people working with us. Matthew Tsoy is our graphic designer and audio engineer. He does a lot of the adjustments to designs and helps create the Reclaim Clique mixtapes that we release with the up and coming artists that we work with. Barry Gessner operates and maintains the website as well as helps on the business end. Chris Glakas, our intern, is a freshman in college with aspirations of becoming designer one day. He helps Tsoy with some graphic design work as well as running events. I mostly run the day to day business operations. I also control most of the marketing.

Does Reclaim Clique have a separate line for the females who love Hip-Hop? If not, can we expect that in the near future?

Yes, we definitely want to have a female line. Expect to start seeing a women's line in the near future.

What do you believe sets Reclaim Clique apart from every other brand?

Reclaim Clique Clothing represents something that is bigger than most clothing companies. We wanted to capture the culture of Hip-Hop and display it on clothing. Most other brands have great designs with little or no meaning behind them. We wanted to create a clothing company that is rich with meaning and culture that could relate to people all around the world.

While creating Reclaim Clique Clothing, we also wanted to create a platform where up and coming artists could gain exposure. We are currently working with a number of artists including Sinatti Pop, Dave Vegas, Illegal, and several other artists. By teaming up with these artists, we can truly say that we represent music.

If you could pick one artist that you feel embodies what Reclaim Clique represents, who would it be and why?

This is a tough question. Hip-Hop is such an immense culture that it's hard to pick one artist that embodies Hip-Hop as a whole. If I had to pick one artist though, it would have to be Common. Common is not only main stream, but he is also socially conscious with an underground feel. He bridges the gap between the underworld of Hip-Hop and radio play Hip-Hop.

Since you're representing a Hip-Hop inspired brand, how do you feel about the current state of the Hip-Hop genre?

Hip-Hop is a culture that is constantly changing with society. I love old school Hip-Hop like KRS-One, N.W.A, Kool G Rap, but it can't stay the same forever; if it had, it wouldn't still be here. I like the more modern artists too like Lupe Fiasco, Immortal Technique, Nas, and T.I. The recent club scene Hip-Hop isn't for me, but it has its place in Hip-Hop. I can't wait to see where Hip-Hop is going in the future.

How can people purchase clothing from Reclaim Clique?

People can purchase clothes through our website www.Reclaimclique.com. They can even use our exclusive coupon code "YORAPS" for 15% off their next purchase.

Where else do you see the Reclaim Clique brand going in the future?

In the future we plan on expanding to other genres of music. We are avid music listeners of all genres, and appreciate what music brings to this world. We want individuals from every clique to be united under one common thread, Reclaim Clique.

Do you guys have a MySpace or a Twitter page?

Yes we do. You can visit our MySpace at www.myspace.com/reclaimclique. Our Twitter page is www.twitter.com/reclaimclique. We also have our own website www.reclaimclique.com. People can check out our newest gear, join the clique, or visit the "CLIQUE" section to listen to the various artists that we work with. Our newest mixtape The Evolution Of Hip-Hop Chapter One; The Beginning is also available for download.

- By Isha "Ice" Cole