Less than an hour into the 2016 Soul Train Awards and XXL Freshman Anderson .Paak has just delivered a performance that will probably prove to be one of the night's best—and he brought his friend BJ the Chicago Kid along for the ride. For their performance, the two gave the audience a live rendition of .Paak's Malibu track, "The Waters."

Blending live, jazzy instrumentation with .Paak and BJ's vocals, the song was an especially appropriate choice for this year's Soul Train Awards. For his part, .Paak's delivery was full of energy as he bounced across stage spitting lyrics about his come-up. BJ handled the hook duties, and the two looked right at home as they gave the crowd just what they wanted.

The performance served as a fitting prelude to .Paak's night, as he took home the Soul Train Awards' Centric Certified Award not too long afterward. Watch his acceptance speech below and keep it locked with XXL for more updates on the winners from the awards show.

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