Ensane & That Purple Bastard
Houston, Texas, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"All hail That Purple Bastard..." - Houston Press
Video interview of FlyFest artists Ensane & That Purple Bastard. Watch it! - FlyFest
This next entry is a local guy who I have to mention because sometimes I feel like the underdog doesn't get the shine he deserves. Purple Bastard has climbed the ranks in the underground hip hop scene [... and] has opened the floodgates to reopen the once -closed doors of the Houston underground scene. - Houston Press
All four of these men performed at Flyfest 2010 over the weekend and each of them killed their respective sets. Purple Bastard is bringing all of these talented individuals together for a project entitled Hater Repellent, Vol. 1 which works like a Houston version of Ski Beatz’ 24 Hour Karate School with TPB handling all of the production duties and a handful of Houston emcees doing their thing over the beats. - Day & A Dream Blog
"You already know who Kyle Hubbard is well, let me introduce you to That Purple Bastard, Ensane and Alibi Rankz. This is going to be off his forthcoming album “Hater Repellent, Vol. 1I which is going to be the Houston version of Ski Beatz 24 Hour Karate School." - TheHipHopEffect.com
"Time Check: 10 p.m. Stage Check : One of Houston’s tag team, and, in my opinion, the more entertaining ones, Ensane and The Purple Bastard. Sound Check: With Ensane’s lyrical wordplay, along with producer/hypeman/rapper, The Purple Bastard, with his beard and playful soundboard, together, they brought new meaning to the term, “we’re here to have fun” by bringing the entire place to their feet." - TheHipHopEffect.com
"That's a tough one; there were just so many interesting things happening all year long. I was really proud of what [That Purple Bastard] was doing..." - Houston Press
Link to full article:
http://www.redpubmagazine.com/article.php?id=588 - The Red Pub Magazine
Ensane is an innovative new rap artist based out of Houston, TX. He recently released his first full-length album entitled “The Him” which was produced by That Purple Bastard for Purple Bastard Productions. Ensane has been described as E-40 meets Common, combining his wild, outgoing personality with a more down-to-earth approach to subject matter.
Born Earl Douglas on October 14, 1978, in San Fransico, CA, Ensane grew up being heavily influenced by Bay Area rappers like E-40 and Mac Dre but also by West Coast rap in general. Relocating to Houston, TX in the late 1990’s, he would soon experience a life-changing event with the birth of his son Atreyu Douglas on March 30, 2004. Although he had been dabbling in rap since High School, it was only after his son’s birth that Ensane decided to really get serious about rapping and begin to build a musical legacy that his son could be proud of. Doing a few collaborations with various producers around Houston, but never really putting enough material together for an official release, Ensane finally met his match in fall of 2008. That Purple Bastard, a Houston area producer known for a more psychedelic sound approached him about doing a full-length album after meeting him through work. They began recording in the Spring of 2009 and quickly found that their styles were complimentary to one another. That Purple Bastard’s dreamy yet grounded beats seemed to be the perfect platform for Ensane’s own already unique delivery. The end result is a meticulously-produced labor of love simply entitled “The Him”.
“The Him”, a concept album based on Ensane’s love for his son Atreyu, as well as his own life experiences is a diverse collection of songs that run the gamut of various musical styles. The title track is a tribute to the Bay Area Hyphy movement, in which Ensane pays respect to his musical origins over dreamy synths, pitched-up samples and a pounding hypnotic bassline. “Holdin’ It Down” is a decidedly more southern track which celebrates Ensane’s union with his new home in Houston over a booty-bass style 808 bassline with a truly Texan funk guitar riff. “Marbles”, the only track co-produced by Ensane and featuring backing vocals from That Purple Bastard, is a very mischievous party song with a bassline that can only be described as “gurpy”. “Makes It Happen” is the album’s street anthem, which talks about the everyday hustle over a pounding bassline and is peppered with screwed samples, an homage to his Houston home. “Nuttiness” is the album’s signature smoking song with very dark, ambient synths and syncopated Timbaland-esque percussion. “The Same” reveals much of Ensane’s past over a bouncy yet wistful beat, complimented by a live guitar track which cries in the background. “Abstract”, the album’s final track celebrates the unorthodox style of both Ensane and his producer and is an effect driven, high-energy track that is unlike any of the tracks preceding it. Take a minute and stream the full album on Bandcamp - FlipNBirds
Discography
Ensane:
"The Him" (2009) - Official Full Length Release Solo Album, ALL Production by That Purple Bastard
"Killafornians" (March 2011) - Upcoming album with San Diego MC Jon Black, features production by Jon Black & That Purple Bastard
"Grown Man Talk" (2010) - A single featuring Houston MCs Kyle Hubbard & Alibi Rankz, produced by That Purple Bastard
That Purple Bastard:
"That Purple Bastard" (2008) - An experimental instrumental hip hop concept album
"Hater Repellent" (2011) - Completely produced by T.P.B., Hater Repellent will feature Ensane along with some of Houston's other best and brightest MCs
Photos
Bio
Ensane is an innovative new rap artist based out of Houston, TX. He recently released his first full-length album entitled The Him which was produced by That Purple Bastard for Purple Bastard Productions. Ensane has been described as E-40 meets Common, combining his wild, outgoing personality with a more down-to-earth approach to subject matter.
Born Earl Douglas on October 14, 1978, in San Fransico, CA, Ensane grew up being heavily influenced by Bay Area rappers like E-40 and Mac Dre but also by West Coast rap in general. Relocating to Houston, TX in the late 1990s, he would soon experience a life-changing event with the birth of his son Atreyu Douglas on March 30, 2004. Although he had been dabbling in rap since High School, it was only after his sons birth that Ensane decided to really get serious about rapping and begin to build a musical legacy that his son could be proud of. Doing a few collaborations with various producers around Houston, but never really putting enough material together for an official release, Ensane finally met his match in fall of 2008. That Purple Bastard, a Houston area producer known for a more psychedelic sound approached him about doing a full-length album after meeting him through work. They began recording in the Spring of 2009 and quickly found that their styles were complimentary to one another. That Purple Bastards dreamy yet grounded beats seemed to be the perfect platform for Ensanes own already unique delivery. The end result is a meticulously-produced labor of love simply entitled The Him.
The Him, a concept album based on Ensanes love for his son Atreyu, as well as his own life experiences is a diverse collection of songs that run the gamut of various musical styles. The title track is a tribute to the Bay Area Hyphy movement, in which Ensane pays respect to his musical origins over dreamy synths, pitched-up samples and a pounding hypnotic bassline. Holdin It Down is a decidedly more southern track which celebrates Ensanes union with his new home in Houston over a booty-bass style 808 bassline with a truly Texan funk guitar riff. Marbles, the only track co-produced by Ensane and featuring backing vocals from That Purple Bastard, is a very mischievous party song with a bassline that can only be described as gurpy. Makes It Happen is the albums street anthem, which talks about the everyday hustle over a pounding bassline and is peppered with screwed samples, an homage to his Houston home. Nuttiness is the albums signature smoking song with very dark, ambient synths and syncopated Timbaland-esque percussion. The Same reveals much of Ensanes past over a bouncy yet wistful beat, complimented by a live guitar track which cries in the background. Abstract, the albums final track celebrates the unorthodox style of both Ensane and his producer and is an effect driven, high-energy track that is unlike any of the tracks preceding it.
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