In his days as a dancer with rap star Tupac Shakur, Larry Spellman witnessed music's allure. Songs tapped into the angst facing urban youth by exploring issues of racism, drug use and poverty.

        The music “talked about the pain people were experiencing,” says Mr. Spellman, 31, of Newport. “But what I found out in the non-Christian rap industry is that a lot of songs talk about problems, but no one's talking about a solution. ... And the solution is Jesus Christ.”

        A year after the city's race riots, Mr. Spellman hit the streets as host for a new TV show that combines music videos with frank talk about urban concerns.

        The show, Remixz, debuted at 12:05 a.m. Sunday on Channel 9 (WCPO) this month on the April 7 anniversary of the shooting of Timothy Thomas, the unarmed black teen whose death triggered the unrest. It captured a 2.7 rating, meaning about 22,600 households tuned in.

        “The message of Remixz can help heal some of the wounds the city has suffered,” said Bill Fee, vice president and general manager at WCPO. “TV doesn't give enough time to expressing what's right in life. This show is about acting responsibly, about developing a faith. It's about being good to other people.”

        And it doesn't sermonize, he said. It uses music as a vehicle to get the attention of teens and young adults.

        Christian rap music gives them the sound they want to hear — without the messages of drugs, materialism, lawlessness and negative references to women, said John Calhoun, the show's producer.

        “A lot of kids and adults think when you talk about church, "It's stand up, sit down and kneel,'” said Mr. Calhoun, 41, of Mount Airy. “Remixz gives them another choice.”

        Remixz is the offspring of another Christian video and talk show, The Zone, which airs at 11:35 p.m. Saturdays on Channel 9.

        Fifteen years ago, Harold Hay launched Victory Videos Ministries as a way to encourage quality family programming and to create “media missionaries.”

        In 1998, Mr. Hay quit his job at the Federal Reserve Bank to run Victory Videos full-time. His first show, 180 Videos, went on-air in February 2000. A retooled, renamed version, The Zone, made its appearance 10 months later. Financed through local advertising, the show is available on 200 stations nationwide and hundreds more cable stations, Mr. Hay said.

        After last April's racial problems, Mr. Hay set out to develop a show that would target an urban audience. Remixz emerged.

        “This isn't a one-hour special where we talk about the issues and disappear,” he said. “We're there week after week talking about things that matter.”

        The producer and host of Remixz, both volunteers, bring a sense of authenticity to the show. Mr. Calhoun smoked marijuana through the 1980s and ended up on the streets, homeless by age 30. Mr. Spellman was a member of the violent Bloods gang in Los Angeles.

        “God redeemed me from the pain, but let me keep the memory of it so I could talk to people where they are,” said Mr. Spellman. “I was a gang banger, and what the heck is a gang banger doing being the host of a Christian TV show? That's part of the message of our show: God will take you "as is' and use you.”

        Rachel Petalver was visiting her brother in Over-the-Rhine a few weeks ago when the camera crew stopped her for an interview. She said the show could use a better time slot and more advertising, buthas a good shot at tapping into some of the area's problems.

        “We need something good. We need some spiritual guidance,” said Ms. Petalver, 32, of New Richmond. “There's so much hate, there really is. There's still a lot of civil unrest.”

        Said Mr. Spellman: “We don't expect Remixz to change the whole Cincinnati. We're not here to judge, "Was council right?' "Were the people in the street right?'

        “The heart of the show is to get people to focus within. Cities can't change until men's hearts change. And we're not going to have change until you bring truth.”

Development authority urged
Text of development motion
Police officer taken off duty
Gaines lectures at UC, on webcast
Investing scheme leads to prison
PULFER: Invading the men's hair club
Wehrung asks record be expunged
West-siders speak out on light rail
County, state duel over $8M
Hail damage reports piling up
Live organ donors outpacing the dead
Public military school planned
Condon School artifacts to be preserved in new academy
Boycott group rejects lawsuit mediation
Good News: Hospital to receive funds
Hamilton County Recreation Notes
Killer appeals execution to Supreme Court
Local Digest
New TV show reaches out with rap music, frank talk
Obituary: Albert Vontz Jr. was philanthropist
'Vampire' jailed; got vial of blood
Deputy accused of advances
Employee dies after fall
Judge drops teen from murder conspiracy
Main Street work to begin
Man indicted in case of molested boy
Warren-Butler Recreation Notes
Wayneville opens Old Lockup for tourists
Assistant superintendent chosen
Butler County Digest
Clermont adding water tanks
Craven murder trial opens
Plans for 2 parks to be presented today
Boater gave his life to save friend
Catholic order gives to UD
Courts facing speech quandry
Kentucky Digest
School pay prompts suit threat
Special session open
State proposes revoking Buckeye Egg's permits