Rapper Drake has suggested that his Los Angeles area mansion – more specifically, its pool – could give Hugh Hefner's own Playboy Mansion a run for its money. Pools and speculation aside, let's check out the singer's $8 million Hidden Hills crib and decide for ourselves.
Musician Drake has made real estate headlines in the past year with his explosive plans to build a gigantic mansion in his hometown of Toronto, a project that initially put the "Free Smoke" rapper at odds with the city's zoning department. While the superstar awaits the completion of his Canadian palace, there's no doubt that he's enjoying spending time in his nearly-$8 million Hidden Hills, California, mansion.
The singer scooped up the property from Saddle Ranch (a famous bar on the Sunset strip) owner Larry Pollack in 2012 for $7.7 million with a tennis court, in-home gym, and a brag-worthy pool – described as including several man-made grottos complete with iron torches in marketing materials. The pool is one of the largest pools featured in a private residence in the US.
Although the 12,500-square-foot mansion was originally listed for $29 million, Drake suggested to Rolling Stone that by 2012 the owner"needed money" and that he "stole it from him" in a great deal for just $7.7 million.
Why did Drake want this house so badly? According to a Rolling Stone interview with the rapper, which aptly dubs the home Drake's "YOLO Estate," it had a lot to do with the pool. The musician, who admits he is "obsessive" when it comes to pools, told Rolling Stone, "I was like, 'What are the world's craziest residential pools?' And when I searched online, this came up. This house was the desktop image on my computer years before I bought it." The pool in question was said to be constructed to outshine even Hugh Hefner's pool at the Playboy Mansion, a fact that Drake revels in. The singer even bragged in his track "Summer Sixteen" that his pool was bigger than Kanye West's.
With a total of six bedrooms and 10 bathrooms – and pool aside – the mansion alone is worth gloating about. The YOLO Estate, found tucked within a gated community some 30 miles outside of Los Angeles, has been revered for its full party setup, making it worth noting that the only available photographs (included herein) are promotional stills from before the home traded hands and became part of Drake's real estate collection. Some things that remain on the property include a tennis/basketball court, stables, a mechanical bull, a recording studio, and a bookshelf that "swings open to reveal his bedroom," according to Drake.
While Drake's Hidden Hills getaway is certainly impressive, it appears that his new Toronto home will likely outdo even the mansion that "outdid" the Playboy Mansion. The singer has allegedly applied for exemptions to zoning bylaws within the city to fit both a basketball court and a pool into the basement, with a hot tub and covered terrace planned for the mansion's roof. Any guesses as to how big his next pool will be?
Drake, 30, is a Canadian-born rapper and actor with a net worth of $85 million. Prior to his big break in the music industry, Drake worked as a child actor, eventually gaining a following for his appearances on the teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. He released his first mix tape in 2006 and signed with Young Money Entertainment in 2009. Drake also owns a 40,000-square-foot home that is still under construction in the Bridle Path neighborhood of Toronto, Canada, as well as his own private party space at the Air Canada Centre.
