Common Says He Once Forged Michael Jordan's Autograph While Working as Ball Boy

As a kid, you'll do some shady stuff to make a quick buck.

Granted, most people carry this over into adulthood, but the point is the #grind starts early in life, and sometimes you do things you aren't proud of to keep Push Pops on deck and Snack Packs in the pantry.

Enter Common, who went on Jimmy Kimmel Live Thursday night to talk about his recent Oscar win and ended up sharing stories from his early days as a Chicago Bulls ball boy.

The rapper explained how his father, former ABA baller Lonnie Lynn, set him up with the gig that led to him meeting Michael Jordan and, ultimately, forging the basketball icon's signature in the hopes of making $5:

"

[Jordan] was incredible. ... He wouldn't tip me, but actually I made a little money off him. Somebody asked for his autograph, and I charged the guy. I said, "OK, $5." You know I was a little kid. I was trying to make it. I needed lunch money, so I went and I said, "Look, Mike, can you sign this for this kid?" and he was like, "You sign it." It was like a joke. … I signed it and took it back to the kid, and the kid looked at it and said, "Wait, this is not Michael's autograph." And I said, "How did he know?" I spelled "Michael" wrong. I didn’t get the $5.

"

Well, spelling "Michael" correctly would appear to be key to successfully navigating the Michael Jordan counterfeit memorabilia market, but it was a semi-admirable effort.

In related news, Common's failures to swindle other kids at Chicago Stadium shed a whole new light on his early rap career.

If you can't con for money, you just start straight up asking.

Dan is on Twitter. He once cried after getting fleeced in a Pokemon card trade, so he knows the emotional price of childhood deception.