Recently, I caught up with Lil' Wayne in New Orleans. I was there to interview the self-proclaimed greatest rapper alive for a feature for Rolling Stone’s upcoming "Best of Rock" issue, due out next month. I first met Wayne last summer, at Hit Factory studios in Miami, where he was recording songs for his upcoming album Tha Carter III, which is coming in May. When we met in New Orleans, Wayne recalled our first meeting, he said, because I look like Conan O'Brien. (Not really true, but I was happy he remembered me for something.)

During the interview — which took place on Wayne's tour bus, with the permabaked MC smoking blunt after blunt — Wayne showed his wonky side and wide range of interests, two attributes that have served him well on his spate of recent mixtapes. (If you don’t have Da Drought 3, hit up BitTorrent post-haste.) I'm saving the best stuff for the story, but here are a couple fun facts I picked up:

• Wayne is taking online psychology classes from the University of Phoenix, having gotten his G.E.D and taken a few courses at the University of Houston.

• Wayne owns and iPhone and a Zune, but except for his own songs, he doesn't listen to any new music. His playlists are full of older stuff like Scarface, Anita Baker, and Keith Sweat.

• Wayne would like to have a weed-fueled gathering with three celebrities he admires: Oscar De La Hoya, Bill Gates and Tom from MySpace. "Oscar, because he’s smart as fuck," Wayne says. "Bill Gates, I don’t have to explain that one. And Tom because he’s an instant billionaire!"

• Wayne has been playing guitar a lot. He’s a decent, self-taught axeman and Nirvana fan who played on Enrique Iglesias' single "Push."

• Wayne's nine-year-old daughter prefers Hanna Montana CDs to his music.