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ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ rapper Hakeem Love, known as Hakeem the Dream, had only been gone from his grandmother’s house for 20 minutes when the tornado hit Red Bud Avenue on May 16.

He’d just purchased a new car and didn’t want to risk hail damage. He rushed back to his home downtown to safeguard his vehicle from the storm, despite neighborhood friends joking about “being scared of a little rain.� Following advice from his mother, Love hurried back to his loft’s parking garage.

“It was a joke because a lot of times they prep us for storms and nothing ever happens,� Love says.

Less than 30 minutes later, his phone began blowing up with calls. His friend, who’d been joking about the storm, Facetimed him from Red Bud Avenue trying to escape the fast winds. The car behind where Love’s vehicle had previously been parked was full of glass from its shattered windows. Knowing his cousin was living in his grandmother’s home, the emcee rushed back to his childhood neighborhood.

“It just was a lot to take in because all this happened in a matter of 20 minutes,� he said.

Like Love, many ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½-based artists and creatives incurred damages to their homes and business spaces during the tornado. In its aftermath, they are picking up the pieces and rescheduling creative projects as they process what has happened and work toward rebuilding their lives.

The historic juke joint, the Harlem Tap Room, a nightlife staple in North City for more than 60 years, was destroyed. A few blocks away, artists spent days cleaning up at Legacy Books and Cafe, a popular venue for open mic performances.

For some, like ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ native and hip-hop artist Alverez “Rezzâ€� Jackson, long-term business investments disappeared in minutes. Jackson returned from a trip to Texas to find the commercial building her purchase a year ago destroyed by a tornado the next day. The building, which had been renovated to house two salons, a photography space, a podcast studio and two recording studios, was set to open this summer.

However, Jackson says his first thought wasn’t about his business, but the surrounding neighbors whose homes crumbled during the storm.

“This was a business that hadn’t even opened yet,� Jackson says. “But what about the people who had lifelong time invested in their homes and now it’s in a pile?�

Although they’d always expected the old tree in his grandmother’s backyard to collapse, Love says he never expected a tornado would cause it to fall on his family’s home. The old tree crushed parts of the roof, knocking down the porch awning and pushing the gutters into the house after the windows were blown out. ?

His grandparents, Clayton and Joyce Love, purchased the house in the 1960s after relocating from Mississippi.

Love’s mother, her siblings and other family members became ingrained in the neighborhood’s culture. They attended the local schools, and everyone on Red Bud Avenue knew the Love family, with Love’s grandparents’ house serving as the family’s home base.

“The house was everything in our family,� Love says. “It still is.�

Flowing through the house of Love was a sweet hum of music and melodies. Love’s grandfather was a school principal and pianist who traveled the world playing the blues with music legends Ike and Tina Turner. The legendary singers frequented the Red Bud house often, and it was there that Love began to develop his musical ear.

As an adult, the “Thick Wit Itâ€� rapper has taken everyone from former ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Post-Dispatch music critic Kevin Johnson to award-winning super producer Zaytoven to Red Bud Avenue to “see where it all started.â€�

“That’s where I first got my dose of music,� he says. “That’s where I honed my skills and that’s where I first started rapping.�

Talent booker and event producer Alonzo Townsend says he’s mourning material items and memories following a tree uprooting and collapsing on his home in Bel-Nor. He was sitting on his couch during the storm when the tree crashed through, flooding the home with water and destroying most of his and his children’s possessions. Also lost was his daughter’s grand piano, his work laptop and memorabilia passed down from his father, Grammy Award-winning bluesman Henry Townsend.

Alonzo Townsend’s home was paid off. He lived there for 12 years, with his home receiving the most substantial damage on his street.

“I just watched my entire foundation literally fall apart,� Townsend says.

Since the tornado, Townsend’s home has been deemed unlivable by the city, leaving him trying to figure out his next steps. However, he says in the storm’s aftermath, ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ artists have rallied around him, dropping off food, clothes, shoes and sending money to help navigate through “painful times.â€�

“The whole community has been showing up for each other, and my tribe has been these musicians and artists,� he says. “I’m grateful to my tribe for holding me up.�

Although neighborhood residents were the first responders when the tornado hit Red Bud Avenue, Love says countless ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½-based artists like Pancho Rucker, Tef Poe, Ronnie Notch and more reached out offering support and help.

“I always step with love, and I don’t know how much of it comes back to me sometime,� Love says. “I can say it came back full force from my peers, and I really appreciate them.�

R&B singer Mai Lee of ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ says it’s the responsibility of local creatives to show up for their community. She spent many of her formative years in North City and attended Carr Lane Visual and Performing Arts Middle School.

When the tornado hit, she teamed up with fellow singer Aloha Mischeaux and used her family-owned Vietnamese restaurant as a source to distribute 200 boxes of fried rice to those impacted. The daughter of refugees who immigrated to ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ during the Vietnam War, Mai Lee says her parents raised her to help others; using music, food and her influence to feed the community and spread awareness.

“If people just see you just showing up and loving the community, they will do it, too,� Mai Lee says. “It’s a domino effect.�

Love also became an ambassador for his neighborhood, delegating tasks and organizing to ensure community needs were met. He’s hesitant in discussing his losses from the tornado, knowing other families lost much more. Despite community support and mobilization, Love knows those impacted by the storm have a long road ahead toward healing.

“It’s like rubbing alcohol on the wound before putting on the Band-Aid,� he says. “The bleeding is going to continue to bleed for a long time.�