NOTE: This article became national news in hours. After learning of a peace rally through a press release, I researched the rapper who was performing. His lyrics were riddled with violent messages, so I contacted the sponsors of the concert, including the police. After the article ran, a protest was held against the rally, and the police withdrew sponsorship.

CAMDEN -- Despite objections from the police, a city and school district-sponsored "Peace On The Streets" rally Thursday night will feature a hip-hop artist whose lyrics appear to promote violence and silencing snitches.

The mayor's office said it has been assured that the artist, Swizz Beatz, no longer raps about hard-core violence and will bring a positive message to teens expected to attend.

But Swizz Beatz's current single, "It's Me Snitches," includes two lines that say: "Freeze, you know who it is / It's me, snitches!" and "I ain't gonna shoot ya / I could just choke ya."

Such sentiments have the police concerned.

We call for this artist to retract the position he advocates in his music and if he does not, we retract our sponsorship of this event," Camden police said in a statement. "While the Camden Police Department fully supports community efforts to stop the violence in our community, we believe that such efforts must be appropriately framed and done with responsibility."

Officers cite the street code against snitching, or talking to police about witnessed crimes, as an obstacle in solving crimes.

Power 99 FM, which is co-sponsoring the event and paying Swizz Beatz for his appearance, convinced city and school officials at a meeting Tuesday that Swizz Beatz will not promote violence at his appearance.

"He's actually sharing a lot of positiveness," said the Rev. Tony Evans, the mayor's spokesman. "A lot of artists, even though they have material that might not be appropriate for all ages, they do want to position themselves as having a positive impact on communities."

The 6 p.m. rally, to be held at Staley Park at 7th Street and Chelton Avenue, will feature speakers, including the mayor, talking about ending the violence. Plus, $4,000 in donated school supplies will be distributed, and social services groups will hand out information.

"We can talk about stopping the violence, but it's going to make a lot more impact if someone like an artist like Swizz Beatz talks about it because kids are going to hear his message a thousand times more than any of us," said Loraine Ballard Morrill, community affairs director for Power 99.

Evans said Swizz Beatz will perform two songs -- one of which is called "Money in the Bank."

Born Kasseem Dean, the 28-year-old got his nickname and reputation by producing beats for famous rappers' lyrics -- like Ice Cube's "Stop Snitchin.' "

A message left for Swizz Beatz and his management at his label, Motown Records, was not returned.

Rutgers-Camden law professor Imani Perry, who studies hip-hop culture, said although hip-hop can convince kids not to snitch, snitching has also gotten a bad rap on the street because of years of inadequate protection for police informants and an unreliable law enforcement system.

She also noted police officers have a similar code against snitching on each other.

"The problem is teenagers who are listening to the music are not getting the more nuanced message, they're just hearing, "Don't betray the community,' " she said.

Still, Perry doubts the effectiveness of the anti-violence rally.

"Does 10 minutes or an hour of positive anti-violence messages counteract the endless loop of songs on CD players and the radio?" she asked. "Rallies are great, but you have to have more substantial intervention if you're going to make a difference."

This article appeared in the Courier-Post.