American rapper Nas to open London restaurant

American rapper Nas is to open a UK branch of his fried chicken and waffle restaurant Sweet Chick in London’s affluent Fitzrovia district this year.

Rapper Nas is to open fried chicken restaurant Sweet Chick in London

As reported by Big Hospitality, the Made You Look singer is set to open the comfort food restaurant on the site vacated by Italian restaurant chain Carluccio’s in Market Place off Oxford Street in central London.

Sweet Chick’s British debut is subject to legal completion, but is expected to open this year. Backed by Nas, the Sweet Chick brand is owned by New York-based restaurateur John Seymour and has four sites in New York and one in LA.

The chain claims to serve “some of the best fried chicken and waffles in New York City”, along with American comfort food classics like biscuits and cornbread, home-baked desserts and cocktails.

Sweet Chick is known for its hip-hop soundtrack and killer cocktails, which has made the venue a hit with A-list rappers in New York.

According to Big Hospitality, Nas joined the business in 2015 as a business partner and brand ambassador.

Born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums and has sold over 30 million records worldwide.

His debut album, Illmatic, released in 1994, received universal acclaim from both critics and the hip-hop community and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.

In 2016, his ex-wife Kelis teamed up with London burger joint Le Bun to open a pop-up restaurant at Soho House in Leicester Square.

Nas isn’t the first rapper to enter the restaurant business. Hip-hop mogul Jay Z owns 40/40 – a sports-focused restaurant chain with sites across the US, while Cuban wordsmith Pitbull has a major equity stake in Florida restaurant Miami Subs Grill, and Illinois rapper Ludicrous ran high-end Singaporean restaurant Straights from 2008-2012.