Welcome to Brick by Brick, a new feature in The Hip Hop Museum Newsletter. Each month, we will speak to someone involved with building The Hip Hop Museum, which will open in 2025.

This month, we spoke with Javier Villao, Project Manager at DBI Projects, whose company is helping to manage the building of The Hip Hop Museum. Read on as Javier speaks about his career path, growing up in Hollis, Queens, and what it’s like to be a lifelong Hip-Hop fan working on the building.

The Hip Hop Museum: Please introduce yourself and tell us about your involvement in building the Hip Hop Museum.

Javier Villao: I’ll start with DBI projects. We’re a project management firm. We help clients develop projects from conception to design—the design process. We even look for real estate and work with the client’s team to develop the project overall.

I’ve been with DBI for four years now and have a background in architecture. One of my partners left his office saying, “That went well.” I asked, “What went well?” he said, “Oh, we talked with this gentleman opening a Hip Hop Museum in the Bronx. My face showed my excitement. My boss asked, “What do you like Hip Hop?” I don’t even remember what I said. I think I blacked out. I’ve loved Hip Hop my whole life. I grew up in Hollis, Queens.

HHM: Professional experiences will rarely align with personal passions. What’s it like to work on a project around something you’ve loved your whole life?

JV: This is one of the first projects I hold so closely. I try to be professional when I speak to people about the project, but you can see the glow in my eyes. I want this to be a successful project—not just because it’s my job but because it’s an important project. It’s going to show how far Hip Hop culture has come. You can see Hip Hop in fashion, you can see it in how people dress for work.

HHM: Are there some moments that stand out for you working on this project so far?

JV: Just sitting in this position supporting the Museum team. It’s an ambitious team, and the Museum’s co-founder, Rocky (Bucano), is the pinnacle of that ambition. I love the collaboration with all the consultants we have on board. It’s those little milestones – we’ve finished schematics, we’re done with design development. I think it’s that reality that this is really happening.

HHM: What will it be like for you when the Museum is actually open and you can visit the final completed project?

JV: The day it opens, we get to walk in with our office, friends, and family; I’m excited to feel that in real-time. The Museum is going to inspire a lot of people.

HHM: Is there one specific thing you’re excited about that people will see in the Museum?

JV: I’m excited about the experiences that will be provided throughout the Museum. I know the Museum doesn’t only want to focus on showing the history of Hip Hop. They want to show the impact Hip Hop has had. People will feel that in the language of the exhibits and in the design. Along with the history, people are going to see that Hip Hop is alive.

HHM: Why does Hip Hop mean so much to you?

JV: I choke up every time I think about it. I’m Ecuadorian. I was born in Ecuador but moved to Hollis, Queens, on Jamaica Ave., when I was four. One of the biggest things I remember as a kid was the music around me, especially Hip Hop and how it helped me connect with the people around me. That shaped me as I got older in high school when everyone was obsessed with Native Tongues and Tribe. Or when I lived in Chicago and got really into Chicago rap.

In my twenties, I remember this speakeasy in Bedstuy, and my friends and I went to it. Everyone was dressed in gowns, and the band sang “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” by William DeVaughan. I knew all the words. A lady beside me asked how I knew this song and that my parents raised me right. I told her that my parents did teach me about music but that the person who taught me about this song was Lupe Fiasco.