Hip-hopping out of his Hills house
If all you want for Christmas is a home once owned by a celebrity, you’re in luck. There are several on the market.
One belongs to hip-hop star Kanye West.
While planning their wedding, the rapper and his bride-to-be, fashion designer Alexis Phifer, 31, decided to list his house in the flats of Beverly Hills at $8,699,000.
The traditional-style, 3,300-square-foot house, which he bought earlier this year for about $7.2 million, is considered a teardown.
The asking price includes plans for a two-story contemporary. West had planned to have a house built in place of the existing six-bedroom, four-bathroom residence, constructed in 1921.
The house is on park-like grounds on less than an acre.
West, 30, received eight Grammy nominations, including an album of the year nod, for “Graduation,” for February’s 50th annual awards.
The mother of the six-time Grammy winner died unexpectedly in November. Donda West, 58, died at home the day after undergoing a cosmetic surgery procedure. She raised her only child alone and at one time was his manager. Kanye West included lyrics of tribute to her in some of his songs. Earlier this year, she co-wrote the book “Raising Kanye: Life Lessons From the Mother of a Hip-Hop Superstar.”
Alexander Davis of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, has the listing, according to the Multiple Listing Service.
Gray makes ‘Big’ move toward the traditional
Another Grammy winner, Macy Gray, sold her Encino home in January for $4.75 million. Now the property is listed at $11.7 million. That’s after a major redo by owners Nick and Linda DeLeo and Sutton Designs Ltd.
The house, built in 1998, was a 10,000-square-foot Colonial. Now it’s a 12,500-square-foot-plus traditional with eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
The gated tennis-court estate, on more than an acre of manicured grounds, has a gourmet kitchen, a wine cellar, a media room and a two-bedroom detached guesthouse.
Gray, 40, won a Grammy in 2001 for best pop female vocal performance for “I Try.” The singer portrayed in the movie “Shadowboxer,” costarring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Helen Mirren.
She released her most recent album, “Big,” earlier this year.
Moe Abourched and Tamiko Mosley at MSM Luxury Estates have the listing. MSM is affiliated with Re/Max on the Boulevard in Encino.
New move, new groove for stylist
José Eber is packing up his scissors for a move.
It isn’t because the 59-year-old hair and fashion maven dislikes his abode. His taste is mirrored throughout the three-level Hollywood Hills house.
Eber just wants a change in lifestyle, he said.
The four-bedroom, 4,200-square-foot home -- listed for $4,295,000 -- is all about the view, which Eber calls “world class.” City lights and hillside panoramas are visible from six balconies and almost every room. The manicured yard has a free-form pool and built-in spa.
Eber’s home is listed with May “Meirav” Kossover and Shoshana Kliman at Rodeo Realty’s Encino branch.
Where ‘60s music legends lived it up
A former Hollywood Hills home of Ringo Starr has come on the market at $4.2 million.
The gated compound, on more than an acre, has five bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms. Behind the complex’s electric gates are a motor court and English gardens.
The house, New England in style, has a library/den, a dining room, an office, a weight room/gym and a pool. There are six fireplaces and staff quarters.
Mama Cass also lived there at one time, and the home is said to be the birthplace of the song “California Dreaming.” The compound was a favorite place for parties with John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and other ‘60s legends.
Barry Sloane has the listing at Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills.
To see previous columns on celebrity realty transactions, go to latimes.com/hotproperty.
