Police in Camden, NJ have threatened to pull their support for a “Peace on the Streets” featuring hit producer Swizz Beatz, because of the lyrics contained in his song “It’s Me Snitches.”
Camden Police issued a statement on Tuesday (July 24) calling for Swizz Beatz to renounce his “anti-snitching” statements, claiming the song, and others like it make it hard for authorities to solve crimes.
Swizz Beatz defended the song, saying that he used the word “snitch” as a radio edit to replace an a curse word in the uncensored version.
“The use of the word ‘snitches’ in the song was just an edit for radio,” Swizz Beatz said in a statement. “If I supported violence or the ‘Stop Snitching’ campaign, I wouldn’t have agreed to be a part of the event.”
The rally is slated to take place today (July 26) without incident.
The rally is sponsored by the local government and school board. According to Camden Police, they will drop their sponsorship of the rally if Swizz Beatz, born Kasseem Dean, failed to meet their demands of renouncing his lyrics.
Camden, is rated one of the most dangerous cities in the nation, coming in second to Detroit, but ahead of Memphis and Baltimore, two cities also suffering from a plague of crime and violence.
Organizers of the rally said that Swizz Beatz would be performing two songs that would have a positive message to the youth in attendance.
The Peace on the Streets rally will distribute over $4,000 to local children for the upcoming school year and is being promoted by Philadelphia radio station Power 99 FM.
