“Thank You Madlib” is a 45 x 45 mix by Freshwater (for Freshwater International Sound Library), highlighting 45 different soul and funk 45’s that he was introduced to through Madlib production and mixes. All vinyl, no reissues.

Thank You Madlib

“Invazion In India” is a Bollywood mix by Freshwater (for Freshwater International Sound Library), celebrating some of his favorite Madlib samples from the genre. All vinyl, no reissues.

Invasion In India

Invazion In India

In its simplest form, “crate flexing” is about showing off, or flexing, your records, or crates. Owning rare and expensive records is an obvious, and generally unavoidable, way to earn respect within the vinyl community. But with the rise in popularity of vinyl, rare records are becoming more and more exclusive to those that can afford them. 

The idea of “flexing” should go deeper and wider than just rarity, instead putting the emphasis on creative curation and storytelling. The basic idea of showing off records is still there, but the focus is different and the audience is more inclusive as a result. Whether it be a certain typeface or photographer, an obscure label or a niche genre, a red thread of hip-hop producer samples, or even simply the color scheme or theme of the album cover art. It’s all Crate Flexing as long as it’s packaged creatively.

Crate Flexing

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