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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
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Judy McBride: “I’m guest facilitator for this week’s Bootleggers Anonymous meeting. My objective today is to help individuals addicted to gaining personal income through the means of piracy or copyright infringement—or shall I say bootlegging!

“There comes a special moment when a person recognizes his/her inappropriate behavior and makes a change, especially when law enforcement cracks down on your CD and DVD hustle. I brought Brotha Hustle and his aunt Tee-Tee Hustle here to share how they overcame their bootleg addiction.”

Brotha Hustle: “It started when I got my first dual-cassette, AM-FM radio beat box with high speed duplication. I would record songs from the radio and create mix tapes to be sold for five dollars. Earning fast money became addictive.”

Aunt Tee-Tee: “That’s right! The income came in steady. Brotha Hustle’s earnings helped me pay my bills. So I immediately enabled his habit by providing him extra cassettes, labels, etc.”

Brotha Hustle: “My bootleg addiction got out of control when I acquired six VHS recorders and a desktop computer with a CD/DVD burner.”

Aunt Tee-Tee: “Intervention came when Brotha Hustle sold a bad DVD copy of ‘Madea’s March on Washington’ to one of the Church Hat sisters.”

Brotha Hustle: “Yeah! Sis. Church Hat got an immediate refund after beating me and aunt Tee-Tee down with that church purse.”

Aunt Tee-Tee: “After that beatdown, our bootlegging days ceased. Now we have a legitimate hustle selling six-ounce bottles of Juicy Juice on ice.”