Teen Beat is an independent record label, originally based in Arlington, VA, now based in Cambridge, MA. It was founded by Mark Robinson (of Unrest) in 1984 at Wakefield High School along with Phil Krauth (of Unrest), Andrew (Riley) Beaujon (of Eggs), Tim Moran (of Unrest), and Ian Zack (Thirsty Boys).

The label was originally set up like a lending library. Only one copy of each album existed and high school classmates of the founders could borrow one for a few days. The albums were mostly unedited Unrest rehearsals and were not numbered but lettered (A, B, C, etc.). Only one of these early albums is known to still exist: Unrest's This Side, Numskull; catalogue number "J" (the 10th TeenBeat release); dated December 14, 1984.

The first public release was a compilation cassette called Extremism In the Defense of Liberty is No Vice on February 23, 1985. This was catalog number "TeenBeat 1". This audiocassette was dubbed into multiple copies by Andrew (Riley) Beaujon and Mark Robinson.

Teen Beat (or "Teen-Beat" or "Teenbeat") has been home to a number of prominent indie bands, including Unrest, +/-, Versus, Gastr del Sol, Eggs, Aden, True Love Always and a large number of other bands and side projects. Along with Dischord Records, TeenBeat was an important early independent label; while Dischord focused on punk and hardcore, TeenBeat's bands were more typically guitar-based "indie-pop". Both labels almost exclusively work with bands from the Washington, D.C. area.

Malcolm X ( /ˈmælkəm ˈɛks/; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965), born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Arabic: الحاجّ مالك الشباز‎), was an African-American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers, he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its crimes against black Americans. Detractors accused him of preaching racism, black supremacy, antisemitism, and violence. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history.

Malcolm X's father died—killed by white supremacists, it was rumored—when he was young, and at least one of his uncles was lynched. When he was thirteen, his mother was placed in a mental hospital, and he was placed in a series of foster homes. In 1946, at age 20, he went to prison for breaking and entering.

In prison, Malcolm X became a member of the Nation of Islam and after his parole in 1952 he quickly rose to become one of its leaders. For a dozen years Malcolm X was the public face of the controversial group, but disillusionment with Nation of Islam head Elijah Muhammad led him to leave the Nation in March 1964. After a period of travel in Africa and the Middle East, he returned to the United States, where he founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. and the Organization of Afro-American Unity. In February 1965, less than a year after leaving the Nation of Islam, he was assassinated by three members of the group.

Sandy Nelson (born Sander L Nelson, December 1, 1938, Santa Monica, California) is an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock drummers of the early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and was a session drummer on many other well-known hits, and released over 30 albums.

His first recording, with a band called The Renegades (Richard Podolor, Bruce Johnston and Nick Venet), was "Geronimo", written by Venet, produced by Kim Fowley and released on the Original Sound Records label. Although it flopped on the national charts, it charted in some of the midwest markets. The song, along with "Charge", is part of the soundtrack of 1959 film Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow released by American International Pictures.

Nelson attended high school with Jan Berry, Dean Torrence (who became Jan and Dean), and Kim Fowley. After gaining respect as a session drummer, he played on such songs as "To Know Him Is To Love Him" (Phil Spector's Teddy Bears, 1958), "Alley-Oop" (The Hollywood Argyles, 1960), and "A Thousand Stars" (Kathy Young and the Innocents, 1960).