Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson.

MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitarist Lyle Preslar to form Minor Threat.

The band was relatively short-lived, disbanding after only three years together, but had a strong influence in the emerging American hardcore punk scene, both stylistically and in helping to further establish the "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and concert promotion.

[citation needed] Prior to forming Minor Threat in 1980, vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson had played bass and drums respectively in the Teen Idles while attending what was then Wilson High School.

[5] Eager to start a new band after the Teen Idles, MacKaye and Nelson recruited guitarist Lyle Preslar and bassist Brian Baker.

They played their first performance in December 1980 to fifty people in a basement, opening for Bad Brains, The Untouchables, Black Market Baby and S.O.A., all D.C.

The lyrics of the song relay MacKaye's first-person perspective of his personal choice of abstinence from alcohol and other drugs, contrary to most rock musicians at the time.

[8] The line "Don't fuck" sparked widespread debate, to which Ian clarified that the intent was commentary on society's attitude towards predatory or casual sex, not on the act itself.

[7] Minor Threat's song "Guilty of Being White" led some critics to accuse the band of racism,[9] but MacKaye has strongly denied such intentions and said that some listeners misinterpreted his words.

He claims that his experiences attending Wilson High School, whose student population was 70 percent Black, inspired the song.

In an interview, MacKaye stated that he was offended that some perceived racist overtones in the lyrics, saying, "To me, at the time and now, it seemed clear it's an anti-racist song.

During that period, MacKaye and Nelson put together a studio-only project called Skewbald/Grand Union; in a reflection of the slowly increasing disagreements between the two musicians, they were unable to decide on one name.

During Minor Threat's inactive period, Brian Baker also briefly played guitar for Government Issue and appeared on the Make an Effort EP.

According to Baker, a major point of contention was the band's musical direction:"Did we all want to develop Minor Threat’s sound to be more melodic, but Ian MacKaye didn’t?

"[10]MacKaye was skipping rehearsal sessions towards the end of the band's career, and he wrote the lyrics to the songs on the Salad Days EP in the studio.

MacKaye went on to found Embrace with former members of the Faith, Egg Hunt with Jeff Nelson, and later Fugazi, the Evens, and Coriky, as well as collaborating on Pailhead.

[17] Requesting only that the original label design (which was based on the "Bottled Violence" artwork)[18] be amended, Ian MacKaye gave the product his endorsement.

[19] A small mention of this was made, where MacKaye commented, "I don't have an occasion to eat a lot of hot sauce, but I also thought the Minor Threat stuff was nice.