Inside Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz’s $20.8M Cliffside Southern California Mansion

Making music, cultivating Black fine art, and making memories have been at the core of Alicia Keys and Swiss Beatz’s relationship since they married in 2010. 

A House With A History

In 2019, the couple purchased Razor House, a mansion on a cliffside of La Jolla, California, for $20.8 million. Designed by architect Wallace E. Cunningham, the home is known as “America’s coolest home” for its intricate aesthetic. Cunningham built Razor House on a .77-acre cliffside lot that many believed was not stable enough for construction. However, Cunningham designed a cantilevered home within the LaJolla bluffs, with razor-sharp edges and angles. The design was completed in 2007 and changed hands twice before the couple purchased the property.

Keys is a musician and producer whose work has earned her 17 Grammy Awards. She recently produced the Broadway musical “Hell’s Kitchen,” which earned two Tony Awards. Keys and longtime collaborator Kerry “Krucial” Brothers founded KrucialKeys Enterprises and own The Oven Studios, a recording space. 

Beatz has worked with artists such as DMX, Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Drake as a music producer, earning one Grammy Award. In 2020, he launched the “Verzuz” series with Timbaland. In addition to his work as a music producer, Beatz has held positions such as VP of sports style marketing, design, and brand music development for Reebok. He has also launched the clothing company Kidrobot and a sneaker line with Reebok. He has also served as an industrial designer for the Aston Martin Rapide. 

The couple has a reported net worth of $150 million. Together, they operate the philanthropic organization Dean Collection and serve as co-chairs of the Gordon Parks Foundation. Also in the works transforming the former Jindal Films Center into a performing arts and recording space. Located in upstate New York, the 111-acre property is positioned to be a creative space. 

Let’s take a look at the couple’s primary residence in California, in which they live with their two children, Egypt and Genesis. 

A Mansion On A Cliff

Located north of San Diego, Keys and Beatz’s home was nicknamed “Razor House” after it was built because of its proximity to Razor Point Trail in the Torrey Pines State Reserve. But the couple has since renamed the home “Dreamland.” 

“This is a place to create dreams and to be bold enough to dream your wildest dream–for us to even be here is a wildest dream,” Keys told Architectural Digest. 

The modernist mansion, constructed of crisp white concrete and glass, is rumored to have been the inspiration for Tony Stark’s home in the “Iron Man” franchise. The 11,954 square feet includes unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean and features several manicured courtyards and walkways. 

“Every wall in this house, every bit of it, is sculpture,” Beatz shared. “These beautiful ‘S’ shapes, these chevrons going down the hillside, curvatures flying in space over your head. It’s more akin to sculpture than architecture.”

Made for entertaining and relaxation, the home includes a central courtyard with recessed lighting and a stone gas fire pit. Two state-of-the-art kitchens–one for the family and another specifically for special events—are in the family room. The family room has a wet bar and built-in wine cabinets. There are four bedrooms and six bathrooms, along with a 1301-square-foot guest house with two bedrooms and one bathroom that provides the same views as the main house. Upstairs are several terraces along with a rooftop deck with an outdoor kitchen. 

In addition to an infinity pool and recording studio, there is an extensive art collection present. The home’s walls are filled with African-American art by artists such as KAWS, Jean Michel-Basquiat, Kwame Brathwaite, Lauren Pearce, and photographer Sanle Sory. The couple are the owners of most of photographer Gordon Parks’ work 

“It really feels like he’s a grandfather to us,” Keys told Architectural Digest. “To be able to keep his collection together and for it to live in the home of Black artists is really very emotional for me.”

Previous Real Estate Holdings 

Before purchasing their current home, Beatz and Keys owned several properties.  

A home in Phoenix was sold in 2021 for $3.1 million. 

In 2013, the couple purchased a 25,000-square-foot mansion from Eddie Murphy for $10.4 million. The 5.4-acre property was located in Englewood, New Jersey, and featured 32 rooms. Two years later, they purchased an adjacent property for $1.7 million. By 2015, they listed both properties for sale for $14.9 million. The property stayed on the market for seven years, finally selling for $6 million in 2022. 

Lenny Kravitz sold the couple a penthouse apartment in New York City for $12.75 million in 2010. Located in the Soho section of Manhattan, the 6,167-square-foot triplex included five bedrooms, four full bathrooms, and four half-bathrooms. The apartment was sold in 2013. While the final selling price is not known, the couple listed the apartment for $17.9 million.