The world in one city united under one roof to show love for music and hate for racism.

Over 800 people visited the Liverpool Academy to see some of the UK’s top talent stage a defiant performance in memory of murdered Merseyside teenager Anthony Walker.

But does it take a tragedy to unite people and can music help break down barriers? The question was put to Ms Dynamite: “I don’t think that it should, but I’m really happy to be here and to use music to put a positive message out there. I think music is a really powerful force to bring people together, but I don’t think music alone can put an end to racism. There’s lots of factors that contribute to the way things are, but I feel it’s a start, a place where people can be heard”

And heard they were, as a variety of artists took to the stage to galvanise their statement of intent. The One Heart One Voice choir sang a tribute to Anthony, while urban dance troupe Shock Out’s performance encapsulated the futility of conflict and hope for unity. Def Jam UK DJ Shinobi kept things rolling with his hip hop and grime mixing, while prodigious local talent Young Kof transmitted his energy to the crowd with his rapping/singing before Roll Deep took to the stage. The London-based hip hop/grime collective tore the roof off with their frenetically paced set. ‘When I’m ‘Ere’ – taken from their album ‘In at the Deep End’ - a resounding success. Again, they emphasised why everyone was at the concert.

Gold-toothed Flowdan recalled when he heard of Anthony’s murder: “I was in my house. I heard it on the news and it made me understand that, basically, you think racism’s over, but it’s not and we’ve got a long way to go. We need to come together – black people, white people….unification, get me? We just need to work together ‘cause it doesn’t make me feel good and I want to work towards helping it stop”.

Breeze agreed: “We need to keep working together – can’t watch no skin colour; nothing like that.” Trim and Scratchy have been working feverishly in the studio on an anti-racism track to help the cause, ‘Good is Good, Evil is Evil’, for a forthcoming release: “We learn people are people…but we’ve got to kick racism out of everything – football, basketball, everything!” The greatest anticipation, though, was reserved for Ms Dynamite’s closing set. She sang her self-titled track ‘Dy-Na-MiTee’ to rapturous applause. Fittingly, however, it was ‘Judgement Day’ from her latest album ‘Judgement Days’ that made the biggest impact in collective minds.

Ultimately, the night belonged to one person – Anthony Walker, the 18 year-old killed senselessly for nothing more than the colour of his skin. In answer to whether there is hope for a unified future, Trim, Scratchy, Riko, Carnage, Breeze and Flowdan give a resounding “Definitely!” Flowdan elaborates, “It just starts with small groups of people, but it'll just build and grow – straight up. No racism – we love music, but we hate racism, yeah?“ And in case you want to argue, scar-sporting Riko said, “We’re not nice to racism people, get me?” You would be a fool to argue.