Over the years, Queens legend N.O.R.E. has proven that he knows a thing or two about technology. On his self-titled 1998 solo debut album, he quipped, “In a minute, I won’t claim no set/Yo, you can’t find me, gotta hit me on the Internet/W-W-dot-NORE,” on “The Change” long before other rappers started embracing the Web as a way to build their buzz. In early 2008, he launched 57th Ave., a Nah Right-esque blog devoted to showcasing new music, videos and interviews. In 2009, he was one of the first rappers to really get his tweet on, even using Twitter to start an online battle with a certain celebrity blogger. And he’s also a Mac lover that’s been using his iPhone recently to record clips of himself supporting other rappers’ albums on the days they drop.

It’s why we were surprised to see that Apple announced their brand-new iPad recently—and no one asked N.O.R.E. about it. ’Cause while the self-proclaimed Drink Champ may not seem like the kind of guy who actually gives an ish about what this guy has to say about the future of computers, well, he does. He even took to Twitter early last week to tell his followers that he’s looking forward to the release of the iPad in late March. So we caught up with N.O.R.E. on—what else?—his iPhone to find out why he’s so excited to get his hands on Apple’s much-anticipated tablet computer. Here are the five reasons N.O.R.E. says the iPad is sure to be, dare we say, off the yelzabub. Retweet that…

1. The price is right…
“The iPad starts at $499. So it sounds to me like they’re trying to compete with the little computers [Ed. note: Netbooks.] that everybody buys their kids because they don’t care if the kids mess them up. That’s no problem for me, though. If I break my Macbook, I might cry. But I figure if I break my iPad, I might just say, ‘Fuck it,’ and go buy another one.  The average person on Earth who has a regular job can afford the $499 joint, which is basically $500 or around $550 with tax. So it’s priced right.”

2. Once you go Mac…
“I actually learned how to work a computer on a PC, but my first Mac product was an iPhone. I was out in Puerto Rico with Ja Rule while he was shooting a movie. Ja had come up to me like, ‘Yo, can you pull up the record I just sent you?’ I had a Blackberry at the time and I pulled it up but couldn’t play it. So Ja was showing off like, ‘Look what the iPhone does!’ Once that happened, I got an iPhone immediately. Once I went Mac, I never went back! I’ve had six or seven iPhones since then. So I’m gonna guess that I’m gonna have at least one or two iPads.”

3. There’s an app for that…
“I’m excited that they’re going to do specific applications just dedicated to the iPad. That’s what I’m waiting for. Because between my Macbook and my iPhone, I got all the fuckin’ apps I can handle already. I seen some shit in The App Store the other day where you can change your facial structure and see if you want to have surgery to change your face and shit. I’m not doing none of that! But hopefully they have some crazy shit on the iPad—something where you can just, like, I don’t know, think of a beat in your mind and it makes the beat for you. (laughs) I want some shit like that!”

4. Apple always delivers…
“Let me tell you how locked in I am with Mac products. All they have to do is send me an email about a product they’re releasing and I press the buy button. They already have my credit card information, my address and all that. All I have to do is press yes. And then 15 or 16 days later, it arrives at my house. [Ed. note: Don’t use whatever shipping service N.O.R.E. does.]

5. I can’t live without it…
“What will I actually use the iPad for? I don’t know! But anytime any technology comes out, I feel exiled from life if I don’t have it. So, come on, Apple, send me that email!”

N.O.R.E. is currently in the studio working on Capone-N-Noreaga’s third album, The War Report 2, due out later this year.

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