That can be really special.’ ” The room also houses Keys’s first baby grand, a gift from the record label that signed her when she was only 16. “She was going to get rid of that piece, and I was like, "Toyin, I don’t think you should.
“I watched her finish that piece in front of me,” Dean says, referring to one of a pair of remarkable Odutolas that has pride of place in the library/music room. African sculptures-a vintage Baga Nimba ceremonial shoulder mask from the early 1900s is a treasured standout-also abound. Vintage Africa chairs by Afra & Tobia Scarpa quietly dazzle, as does Jordan Casteel’s vibrant Fallou and a multimedia drawing by Nigerian American artist Toyin Ojih Odutola. On the main floor, Derrick Adams’s hypnotic ode to leisure, Floater 74, rests above the custom ebonized-oak table by Kelly Behun Studio in the formal dining room. They are not intimidated by this place at all.” They’re running around enjoying themselves. When you look at a home like this, you think people are living in it stiffly-they’re not. Fashion styling by Jason Bolden.Ĭunningham, who has since become friends with the Dean family, says that “it’s nothing like you would imagine. Kasseem Dean (in a Saint Laurent shirt and trousers) and Alicia Keys (wearing a Brunello Cucinelli Dress and Bottega Veneta Shoes) poolside. “The interiors don’t in any way shout they’re simple and timeless,” says Behun, later adding, “It was never going to be about trying to upstage the natural surroundings, the architecture, or the art.” The palette leans heavily on colors that harmonize with the views-golden sands, caramel browns, buttery cognacs. Keen on making the home more family-friendly and less like a place a “superhero would live in,” Behun brought in warmth by introducing wood elements, Moroccan wool rugs, and seating upholstered in soft fabrics like shearling and cotton velvet. Being remote would normally be an obstacle, he was so in tune with what he knew he wanted, and that’s why everything just clicked.” Erected in 2007, the cantilevered structure comprises floor-to-ceiling glass, white concrete, grand walkways, manicured courtyards, and floating staircases. “He lives and breathes that house he understands every square inch of it. “They might as well make a sculpture of her the Statue of Liberty.”Ī hectic schedule, however, didn’t keep Dean from being a hands-on collaborator during the nine-month-long project, says Behun. “She’s Miss New York,” Dean, himself a Bronx native, declares.
It’s worth noting that one of Keys’s biggest and most beloved hits to date is “Empire State of Mind,” the 2009 collaboration with Jay-Z that has become the unofficial anthem of the city that never sleeps. Still, he worried that his wife, born and bred in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, would veto a move to the West Coast. “When your screen saver comes to life, it’s unbelievably crazy,” he exclaims. When the couple’s real estate agent, Stephen Sweeney, called with news that the house was again available, Dean was elated. “I was low-key manifesting it,” he states. During that time the multilevel manse, named after the neighboring Razor Point Trail, appeared and disappeared from the market, but the producer remained hopeful. Dean set a picture of Cunningham’s singular creation as his phone’s screen saver for eight years.
This left a good impression on Keys who immediately grew fond of LaCienega after her noble gesture.It took some time for that dream to become a reality. Keys would approach LaCienega and invite her to appear in a music video alongside Agatha Ordinario after LaCienega forfeited her Tween Idol victory after accepting that Agatha was truly the more talented singer.
LaCienega Boulevardez is an avid fan of Keys and exclaims, "she's my idol!" upon finding out she would be in attendance and it is revealed that meeting her has been a lifelong dream. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002.Īlicia Keys appeared in the episode The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly as a celebrity guest judge alongside Randy Jackson (Michael Jackson's brother) on Tween Idol. The album was critically and commercially successful, producing her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Fallin'" and selling over 12 million copies worldwide. After disputes with the label, she signed with Arista Records and later released her debut album, Songs in A Minor, with J Records in 2001. A classically-trained pianist, Keys began composing songs by age 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Columbia Records. Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter.