By James McClain
June 18, 2020 11:31 pm PT
16,700 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms
Though he famously references the exclusive community of Hidden Hills on his song “Butterfly Effect,” it seems Houston-born rapper, reigning sneaker tycoon and Fortnite record-smasher Jacques Webster — better known as Travis Scott — would rather live in L.A.’s Brentwood neighborhood, where he’s dropped $23.5 million on a colossal hilltop house with panoramic views over the entire city, and where some of his nearest neighbors include LeBron James and Petra Ecclestone.
Designed and built on speculation by the father-and-daughter team of De Loren & Associates, the 16,700 sq. ft. beast of a mansion packs in 7 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms into three full floors of ultra-contemporary living space. But unlike most other contemporary mansions, the home’s architecture is not your typical lego-like box; rather, it’s wrapped in smoothly curvaceous sheetmetal that was meant to evoke the lines of “a modern yacht,” per listing materials.
Initially offered last summer with a $42 million pricetag, the house underwent two significant pricechops and a change of realtors before along came Scott, who paid the entire $23.5 million purchase price in cash, according to property records. While a significant discount off the original ask, that number still ranks as one of the biggest deals recently inked in L.A.’s luxury real estate market, which has been considerably hammered by coronavirus-induced chaos.
Sited at the very end of a semi-remote cul-de-sac and completely invisible from the road, the house is hunkered far below street level and the neighboring homes, with the driveway sloping steeply down onto the home’s roof — where there’s parking for a dozen or more vehicles — and from there, down further into the mansion’s dark bowels, where there’s a 20-car “auto gallery” of a garage.
Inside the structure’s glass front door, guests are greeted by a floor-to-ceiling walnut sculpture designed by master Japanese carpenter Toshi Kawabata, opposite a 12-foot “green wall” that acts as a natural air purifier. Beyond that, a completely open main level is comprised of a single great room, with a bar, fireplace and various seating and dining areas, plus an adjoining kitchen slathered in a decadent black marble and outfitted with custom Gaggenau appliances.
The home’s lower level is expressly devoted to recreation and entertainment, with a gym, a sauna, a 15-seat theater and a substantial wet bar area, plus a glass-enclosed, temperature-controlled wine closet that reportedly holds up to 650 bottles. And tucked directly under the outdoor swimming pool is the property’s game room, currently equipped with a designer-done ping-pong table.
Upstairs, the penthouse floor includes two junior master suites — one of which will presumably be claimed by the already mega-famous Stormi Webster, Scott’s daughter — and a hedonistic owner’s suite with dual closets, a spa-style bath and a balcony with views stretching across all of Los Angeles.
Though it clings treacherously to the side of a nearly sheer cliff, the house nonetheless has substantial outdoor entertaining areas and all the requisite recreational amenities. There’s an outdoor kitchen, poolside cabana, alfresco dining decks and a 75-foot infinity pool that serves the triumphant final note on the palatial estate’s hit song.
For now, Scott’s current residence is a $13.5 million mansion in the Benedict Canyon area of Los Angeles, which he still co-owns with ex-girlfriend Kylie Jenner. But given his Brentwood upgrade — and the fact that Jenner has moved on to her new $36.5 million Holmby Hills mansion — it seems highly likely the pair will attempt to offload that no-longer-needed “starter” house in the very near future.
Fredrik Eklund and Marcy Roth and Andreas Elsenhans at Douglas Elliman held the listing; Carl Gambino of Compass repped Scott.