JAMAICAN-BORN, Canada-based singer Neville George has always yearned to follow in the footsteps of his music idol, Bob Marley.

Marley help spread the gospel of reggae globally. He died in May 1981 of cancer.

Born in Clarendon, George grew up in St Ann’s Bay and migrated to Canada, where he settled in Toronto and started working as a painter.

His move to Brompton in 1995 and his love for Jamaican music led him to start his own label, Praise God and Live, six years ago.

Since then, he has released a number of singles in the same positive vein as his music hero, including Stay in School, which he thinks is a message for children all over the world, Sex World, Not Abuse, and, Ashley Thompson.

Asked who is Ashley Thompson, George said that it is dedicated to “a woman who makes me feel like Sampson”.

George is currently working on his debut album, which he says should be distributed through VP Records, with which he has had remarkably good relations since he started producing.

“I think there is a good market in Toronto for serious Jamaican reggae music, and I am going to continue exploring it,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

In addition to Marley, the singer said he is inspired by Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs.

Brown died in 1991, while Isaacs passed in 2010. They were 42 and 59, respectively.

He also admits that he hopes to return to Jamaica. But, for now, he will just stick to his painting — and his music.