Justin D Burton studied historical musicology at Rutgers University. He specializes in popular music and culture, especially focusing on hip hop, technology, and the expression of identity through popular music. His ongoing research combines these interests, reading contemporary popular music through the lens of posthuman theory.

Since 2011, he has served on the executive committee of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music - United States Branch (IASPM-US) as the web editor for the organization's website (iaspm-us.net). In this role, he has helped curate several series of essays from popular music scholars around the world, worked with the editors of the Journal of Popular Music Studies on a print-web crossover special issue of the journal, and served on the program committee for the 2013 conference in Austin, TX (iaspm-us.net/conferences/), and facilitated a redesign of the website.

His forthcoming publications include "From Barthes to Bart: The Simpsons v Amadeus" in the Journal of Popular Culture (2013) and "Dancing Silhouettes: The Mobile Freedom of iPod Commercials" in the Oxford Handbook of Mobile Music Studies (2012). In addition to the aforementioned book on posthumanism, he's currently working on a critical essay about the A$AP Rocky album Live/Love/A$AP, a co-edited volume on contemporary hip hop, and a special journal issue on Music and the Global South.

At Rider, Justin Burton teaches, among other courses, Music and Technology in a Mobile Society, Black Music in America, Writing about Music, and the Digital Composition of Popular Music.  He served on the committee to design the new Bachelor of Arts in Popular Music Culture at Rider. More information can be found at justindburton.wordpress.com.