About Me

India Mallard (pronounced In-dee-uh Mal-erd) is a cultural archivist, an aspiring Hip-Hop appraiser, and a multimedia storyteller based in Maryland, USA. She grew up in a unique environment that combined the Tri-state area and the Dirty South, cultivating her innate cultural mosaic perspective. Mallard is an alumna of Bowie State University, the oldest Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the state, where she earned her B.S. in Visual Communication and Digital Media Arts (VCDMA) with a concentration in Digital Cinema and Time-based Media. She is also notable for being one of three scholars who completed the Hip-Hop Studies and Visual Culture minor program, studying under the first female MC in Hip Hop history, MC Sha-Rock.

Additionally, Mallard owns and operates Soulful Haze, LLC, a multidisciplinary company that aims to connect generations in Black Culture and promote equality in the music and art enthusiast communities through research and archival services. Basquiat's Boombox blog and podcast, as well as her symposia efforts, are an embodiment of these efforts.

When not crate digging at her "wrecka stow" or browsing bookstores, India is actively involved in researching and writing essays on performing arts in the African diaspora, with a focus on film and Hip Hop culture. She is affiliated with organizations such as Women in Film, the Playwrights’ Center, the Association of Moving Image Archivists, the Hip-Hop Education Center, and the National Honor Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS).

Currently, India is a graduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park, pursuing her master’s degree in Library and Information Science and a certificate in Museum Scholarship and Material Culture while manifesting her multi-hyphenate dreams.

I am a plant mom. My motto: Beats, Rhymes, and Vines. 

I come from the school of classic hip-hop, so it is in my DNA. 

I am a proud music scholar and an active presenter in academia.

I am an avid collector (preserver) and consume of all things pertaining to Black art, music, and film.