Ten Things k-os Can't Live Without by Amy Verner

Ten things the self-described “neo-crossover rap ’n’ roller” can’t live without By Amy Verner

1. My go-to guide
The Origins of Virtue, by Matt Ridley, is a book about evolution, morality and the idea that we take a lot of our behaviour from the animal kingdom. A band is like a gang, and I found Ridley’s book taught me a lot about co-operation. I give it to friends starting businesses, so I keep having to buy it.

2. My Magic Bullet blender
My bandmates and I are trying to be a bit healthier on tour, so I bought this great little blender. Not all of the concoctions we mix are healthy, though. Our favourite drink is gin and Greens Plus, a nutrition supplement.

3. Dalpuri
Caribbean Roti Palace (744 Bath­urst St., 416-533-7466) has the best dalpuri in the city, hands down. It’s roti with yellow split peas, and it’s soft and amazing and only $2. I eat it “buss-up-shut,” which is a Trinidadian way of saying you want the roti shredded, with curry on the side.

4. My pencil
I always roll with a Staedtler HB. I had been writing rhymes on my computer and my BlackBerry, but some rappers and poets I know thought that was weird. So I bought some pencils at Curry’s Art Store on Queen. Now when I write out rhymes, there’s a sacredness to them; it’s more kabbalistic.

5. That ’70s Show
I watch it all the time. I appreciate the music and how defined the characters are. I think people chase the generations they were too young to experience. I was born in 1972, so for me, it was the ’70s.

6. My Levi’s jean jacket
I’ve had it for four years. Sometimes I’ll be in a cab heading out for the night, and I have to turn around so I can go back and throw it on.

7. My instruments
I have guitars and crazy drum machines. Everything’s in my bedroom at my condo, near Richmond and Portland. When I was writing Yes!, my new album, I’d get out of bed, watch TV, see something that disturbed me or that I really liked, and then just use my home studio.

8. The Bible
It’s the New World translation, which is the Jehovah’s Witness Bible. My father gave it to me, and I always take it on trips.

9. Musical inspiration
When I’m making a record, I listen to The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest. I love the well-groomed, street corner call-and-response style on that album. It’s vulnerable, yet still Brooklyn B-boy to the bone.

10. Brut aftershave
It reminds me of my uncles, Lennox and Winston. When I was a kid, Uncle Winston would give me his keys and let me start the car and pretend to drive. So I started rocking it. I think I associate it with manhood.