“Hip-hop informs my life in general,” Mr. Huang said… “The only two American things that made sense to me growing up were hip-hop and barbecue.”

Both of those cultural forces contribute to the Baohaus ethos. Mr. Huang was so determined to find employees who shared his taste in music that he placed “help wanted” ads on Craigslist that hinged on cryptic snippets of lyrics. If you didn’t happen to know that “play Nintendo with Cease-a-Leo” was a nod to a Notorious B.I.G. song, well, you might not fit in.

“That’s how we hired people,” he said.