Virginia Beach native Pusha T is best known for his rap career, first as half of the duo Clipse, then with his ongoing collaboration with Kanye West, and most recently with a well-received third album. Now he’s adding restaurateur to his resume: Pusha is part of the team opening ramen joint Kitsuen on H Street.

Wayne Johnson is heading up the spot with business partner Tony Perry—-the pair are also behind the D.C. clubs Saint Yves and Abigail. He says that Pusha is a longtime pal, who met the duo through mutual friends.

Kitsuen was originally set for a fall 2018 opening, according to Eater. Following lengthy construction delays, Pusha “breathed new life into the project,” Johnson tells DCist. “He’s been helpful in curating the direction and vibe, and general aesthetic we’re looking for.”

Pusha’s business partner Terrion Jones is also part of the team, as are brothers and basketball players Jerian Grant of the Capital City Go-Go and Jerami Grant of the Denver Nuggets.

Johnson describes Kitsuen as “a bar that does a few things very well on the food side.” Munehiro Mori—formerly of D.C.’s Asia Nora and Bethesda’s Raku—has signed on as executive chef. The menu is set to include two or three ramen bowls and a handful of small plates, and a selection of craft cocktails. (Johnson teases one drink that’s “a nod to Push and the 757”—the area code for Virginia Beach.)

Johnson expects the restaurant, located at 1362 H St. NE, will be open to the public shortly after New Years.

The space—2,200 square feet in total, per Eater—includes a heated patio and a second floor, both of which will have hookah available. At Kitsuen (the Japanese word for “smoke”) Johnson says they’re curating a different vibe than their other clubby D.C. spots.

“Even though every year new people are turning 21, our core crowd—they’re at different place in their life,” Johnson says. “Popping bottles isn’t really what they want to do in their life right now. [We’re] trying to offer another loungey, cool, calm, but fun place for that group of people.” He offers Eaton DC’s rooftop lounge Wild Days as an example of the kind of space Kitsuen will be. 

This appears to be the first restaurant venture for Pusha T, a Bethesda resident. When he’s not focusing on ramen, Pusha, 42, heads up West’s record label, G.O.O.D. Music. The rapper also announced earlier this month that he and wife Virginia Williams are expecting their first child together.