Tidbits and Morsels: Ludacris

We first heard from the long-legged blond property gossip gal at Trulia Luxe Living that three-time Grammy winning rapper and actor Ludacris is moving up in the glittery (cut-throat and competitive) Tinseltown real estate world.

A week or so ago he sold one of his two (uncombined) duplex penthouse apartments on a heavily trafficked boulevard just west of Century City for $879,000. A quick peek at property records and a couple calculations on Your Mama's bejeweled abacus shows that's exactly $151,000 less than the $1,030,000 he paid for the place in late 2006, not counting improvements, carrying costs, and real estate fees.

A few days, maybe, before he closed the sale on the Century City-adjacent penthouse, Mister Ludacris—nee the far more prosaic Christopher Brian Bridges—splashed out $4.8 million for a nearly 6,000 square foot, freshly rehabbed contemporary high the Hollywood Hills near Runyon Canyon.

Listing details show the three-plus floor residence has an attached two-car garage with additional off-street parking for up to seven—a real luxury in a house in the hills. There are five bedrooms and five bathrooms including separate staff quarters and a spacious master suite complete with sitting area, fireplace, wet bar, dual bathrooms, large dressing room/closets, and private balconies with glass balustrades and views of the Hollywood sign and the twinkling lights of Hollywood and beyond.

The voluminous, open-concept main living space (living, dining and kitchen) has walls of of glass to open to a multi-level deck, wide plank blond wood floors and much darker brown kitchen cabinetry, and a bevy of state-of-the-art electronic systems. Other luxury features include a home theater, a wine cellar, and a city-view infinity-edged swimming pool and raised spa.

Your Mama's brief and entirely unscientific research shows Mister Ludacris continues to own the second, aforementioned two bedroom and 2.5 bathroom duplex penthouse pad next door to the one he just sold that's currently on the market for $879,000, a good bit more than the $699,000 he paid in May 2002. He also still owns a sprawling, 22+ acre estate with a private lake and a 10,663 square foot mansion southwest of Atlanta (GA) in suburban Cliftondale that he picked up in early 200for $2.8 million.

listing photos: Keller Williams