Migos Shine Bright at Their Album Release Show in New York City

"This is our album release party!" Quavo chirped when taking the stage last night at New York City's Highline Ballroom to celebrate the long-awaited release of Migos' Yung Rich Nation. And while he and Takeoff crisscrossed the stage—Quavo looking thin as hell and Takeoff looking more and more like the 2014 version of Ty Dolla $ign by the day—they also kept repeating their latest go-to mantra, "Free Offset!" which was gleefully taken up by the crowd all night long.

With the album streaming this week, Migos could have relied heavily on their newer material, but instead they opened by going all the way back to the beginnings of their catalog. "Rich Than Famous" bled into "Bando" and then their initial breakout hit "Versace," delivered so early in their set that their confidence in their material was on full display. An extended version of "Contraband" was a huge hit with the sold out audience as well, showcasing that the duo, even without the incarcerated Offset, know how to command a stage when they feel like it. Following the lineage of the Clipse, Raekwon and many more before them, the Migos follow the coke rap lane but do it completely differently; to put it one way, they are easily the most fun coke rappers in the genre's history, choosing to celebrate the finer side of things rather than its grimier underbelly.

As the repetitively-goofy "Ounces" bled into a high energy "Hannah Montana" (which then curiously paused in the middle, sucking much of that momentum from the room), it was another reminder that Migos possess a particular skill that has landed them at the forefront of this latest trap revival: just as Drake can seemingly grab any turn of phrase and twist it into a part of the popular lexicon ("YOLO," "0 to 100," "Runnin' through the 6 with my woes), so too can Migos take any phrase and turn it into a repetitive anthem that is easily accessible to the masses. It's what helps their new album succeed in a way that's more palatable to a wider audience than their street mixtapes, even though it's those hits—"Versace," "Hannah Montana," "Fight Night"—that got them here in the first place.

With their Balmain jeans, blindingly gold Margielas and YRN t-shirts shining all the way into the rafters, the Migos finally began delving into their new songs, with "Dab Daddy" and "Spray The Champagne" getting decent responses from the New York crowd still trying to catch up to all the new material. The Migos definitely displayed their appetite for bigger and more high-profile shows after their performance last night, but circumstances meant that it wouldn't be the talk of the town in the morning; as the strains of "Wishy Washy" began to spread over the crowd, Meek Mill delivered his diss track aimed at Drake and all focus in the crowd, or at least in the balcony, was lost immediately. Some things you can't control. For the rest, Migos has it covered.