Welcome to the Summer of Migos. The hip-hop trio – Quavo, 28, Offset, 27, and Takeoff, 25 – dropped “Stripper Bowl” right at the start of the sunny season but decided to keep their performance at the 2019 BET Awards a little PG. At the June 23 event, taking place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Migos got wet and wild while performing “Pure Water.” The hip-hop group literally made it rain inside the auditorium, as the water fell behind the troupe in a way to spell out words like “Migos,” “Pure Water,” and more. While everyone will be drinking something alcoholic at the afterparties, for one moment, the BET Awards audience was craving a glass of “pure water.”
This performance comes just a few days after the group released their new single, “Stripper Bowl.” The accompanying video helped clarify what exactly a “stripper bowl” is, as the disclaimer at the start read that the Atlanta-based record label, Quality Control, held its “stripper bowl” over Super Bowl weekend 2019. “Over $500,000 was thrown in one night. Seriously.” The video was filmed partially at the actual Stripper Bowl celebration in Atlanta, according to Rolling Stone, and it’s precisely what one might think: Migos rapping; strippers twerking; expensive cars pulling up to the club; half a million dollars being thrown around like it’s nothing. It’s too soon to see if it’ll top the charts, but if it’s like “Pure Water,” the song they performed at the BET Awards, then it should rise to the top.
“Pure Water,” a collaboration between Migos and American producer Mustard, was released on January 16, 2019. It peaked at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at 10 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop charts. Despite not reaching the top position, the track has already been certified platinum. It also earned some critical acclaim, as Stereogum praised Mustard’s beat for its “crisp, snapping West Coast minimalism that made him the producer of the moment half a decade ago, but the squealing high-pitched melody that loops in the background of the track makes it resemble prime crunk-era Lil Jon.”
#DJMustard and #Migos just performed #Drip. #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/BIpko5HNpe
— No Hipsters Allowed (@nohipstersblog2) June 24, 2019
Migos and Mustard get an A- for that ‘Pure Water’ performance #BETAwards
— Anika Reed (@heyitsanika) June 24, 2019
As for Migos, Stereogum said that it sounded like they “flashed back to a different moment in Atlanta rap history” and it was great to hear them all back together, a sly dig at the three solo albums that the group released over the last year: Quavo’s Quavo Huncho, released in Oct. 2018; Takeoff’s The Last Rocket, released one month later; and Offset’s Father of 4, which dropped in Feb. 2019. Those solo efforts were a mixed bag, as they received mixed-to-generally positive reviews and sold okay, but not great. Perhaps like Voltron, Migos are more powerful when combined?