"Pure Water" is a song by English grime artist

Skepta Chief Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British-Nigerian grime MC, rapper and record producer. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding ...

, released as a single in 2018 by

Boy Better Know Boy Better Know, often abbreviated as BBK, is a British grime collective and record label. The collective was founded in North London in 2005 as an independent record label by brothers Jamie and Joseph Adenuga, better known as Jme, and Skepta ...

. The song references the sachets of water that are sold by street vendors in

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. It debuted and peaked at number 78 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Critical reception

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' stated that the song starts with a "nursery rhyme riff before slinking into a rubbery, muscular beat", with Skepta rapping "Pure water and lots of ice/ She knows that I be the boss of life." ''

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...

'' pointed out the song's use of puns in relation to the title, including references to "ice", and complimented Skepta's wit, as well as how he sounds over the "sparse, percussive beat". ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' called the track "ice cold" and said Skepta delivers his "trademark flow over self-produced signature sounds", calling it "another entry into a long line of bass-heavy, all-out grime tracks in his back catalogue". ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' called it one of Skepta's most "contemplative" tracks "to date". ''HotNewHipHop'' said Skepta's "direct delivery on the track complements the minimal and smooth production".

Music video

The music video for the song was directed by

Olivia Rose Olivia Rose (born 1985) is a British portrait photographer and music video director, living in London. Her photographs are held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London. Life and work Rose was born and grew up in north west Londo ...

. While Skepta teased the music video in June 2018, showing a behind-the-scenes clip of several women wearing lots of jewellery, the full video was uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on 31 October 2018.

Charts

References

{{Skepta 2018 singles 2018 songs Skepta songs Songs written by Skepta