When The Hip Hop Museum opens in late 2025, it will be a place to trace and learn the history of Hip Hop culture and see some of its most iconic artifacts and treasures. Whether it’s artist clothing, plaques, handwritten lyric sheets, or even iconic cars from the culture’s history, you’ll find it all at The Hip Hop Museum.

The new ‘Artifacts’ feature in The Hip Hop Museum Newsletter will highlight some of those iconic memorabilia and artifacts that have been donated to The Museum.

To kick off the inaugural edition of the feature, we wanted to focus on three iconic words in Hip Hop history – The Hit Factory. In 1975, Edward Germano purchased the original location of The Hit Factory at 353 West 48th Street, where Stevie Wonder recorded ‘Songs In The Key of Life.’ In 1987, Germano opened another location in Times Square where Hip Hop icons Run-DMC and Eric B. & Rakim recorded. But it was in 1993 that Germano opened The Hit Factory’s most iconic location and its headquarters at 421 West 54th Street. Countless legendary artists have been recorded here, including Mariah Carey, Madonna, Michael Jackson, and The Notorious B.I.G., who recorded ‘Ready To Die’ at the studio.

Edward Germano, who passed in 2003, left behind an unmatched musical legacy and artifacts from his iconic studios. His daughter Danielle Germano recently donated numerous items from The Hit Factory to The Hip Hop Museum, including a Sony Oxford OXF-R3 recording console and a Hit Factory sign. The Hip Hop Museum caught up with Danielle Germano to talk about growing up around the studio, her donation, and a humorous encounter with The Notorious B.I.G.

Danielle Germano Interview

Adam Aziz: I assume you spent a lot of time around The Hit Factory growing up. Do one or two memories stick out for you?

Danielle Germano: I started at the studio after school when I was 15 and then went to Parsons School of Design for three weeks. Then, I left and decided I wanted to do this. So, I started working at the studio. Life was interesting. John Lennon was a really good friend of my Dad. He was with us a lot. My parents got him an apartment in our building.

I didn’t know who the people were at the time. Donna Summar was with us all the time. From the time I was ten, I loved Sugarhill Gang. Oh my God, I thought they were everything. It was a natural progression. When I started running our studio on 42nd Street, that’s where all the Hip Hop started. All the Hip Hop artists knew I believed in them. Back then, people would say about Rap, “Oh, this isn’t anything,” and I would say this is poetry. What is wrong with you? You guys don’t know what’s coming. This is not a passing fad. I’ve always loved Hip Hop. I was so happy that the Hip Hop Museum existed because I was trying to decide what to do with the console.

AA: How did The Hit Factory become such an iconic place for Hip Hop artists to record?

DG: They all really worked through me down at 42nd Street. Everybody knew I truly supported them, and I loved the music. I would give people free studio time. Jodeci was an example. They ran out of budget. I called them and asked where they were. They said they were at home, and I went and picked them all up. I called my Dad and told him they ran out of budget and had no more money. I told him I was going to give them studio time, and he said do what you want.People also felt safe that their music wouldn’t get leaked if they recorded at The Hit Factory.

AA: Were you at the studio when Biggie recorded ‘Ready To Die’?

DG: Oh yeah. I was telling somebody one day that Puff and Biggie walked in, and I was sitting in the lobby for some reason. We were talking, and they realized I didn’t recognize Biggie. Biggie looked at me and said, “How do you not remember me? I’m such a big guy.” I said my Dad’s a big guy, and I don’t judge people that way. I just remember that you were always really nice.

AA: What do you think the legacy of The Hit Factory is?

DG: It was a safe space where people came to make music and be as creative as possible. I hope future generations understand that people used to come into a studio to record. It wasn’t done at home on a computer. My Dad used to tune the rooms; his ears tuned the room. My Dad was incredible with that.

AA: There are many places you could have donated these Hit Factory artifacts—numerous artists of many genres recorded there. For example, you could have donated to the Rock’ n Roll Hall of Fame.

DG: I didn’t want to do that. I wanted The Hit Factory cemented with Hip Hop. I believed in Hip Hop and did a lot of work on it. The fact that people didn’t believe in it when I knew it was something special. Like when Eric B. & Rakim used to come in, it was the best. RZA. We’re talking about the greatest artists. Tupac. How do you not love that?

I want the Hip Hop Museum. I want people to go there. And if the donations help bring people there and see what a console looked like…that console we donated, there were only, I think, fourteen of them in the world, and maybe three left. One of them is in Peter Gabriel’s barn, but I don’t think it’s usable anymore. The Hit Factory was the first all-digital recording studio in the world.

Read more interviews on the Hip Hop Museum!