- 47 minutes ago
FX’s “The Drop: A Snowfall Saga” picks up in the early ’90s, in the aftermath of “Snowfall” and at the birth of West Coast hip-hop. Set against a moment when music, culture and community collide to create something entirely new, the series follows a story of family, ambition and identity — and the drive to build a legacy on your own terms.
Category
🎈
FunTranscript
00:06What's up, what's up, what's up, what's up?
00:13What's up Essence, y'all having a good time out there?
00:18All right, don't get dehydrated drinking all them damn nackeries.
00:24Watch yourselves now, watch yourselves.
00:27All right, I am your host, all Dog on Day, Tisha Campbell.
00:36And you guys just got a chance to see the icon herself.
00:41She is a storyteller that just keeps bringing new revelations over and over again.
00:47The very beautiful, the very iconic Mara Kilbrock.
00:53Y'all give it up for her again, and my good friend Sherry Shepherd.
00:59So now we're going to keep it moving, okay?
01:02Again, I don't need these.
01:03Don't be talking about me.
01:07It's decoration.
01:09It's decoration.
01:11All right, so I want to bring out somebody that's going to be moderating our next segment.
01:18You guys, give it up for Kelly Carter.
01:21Kelly!
01:23I want you to help me.
01:24Come on out, baby.
01:26Clap it up for this beautiful queen.
01:29Come here.
01:30I want you to help me introduce this next cast, okay?
01:35This next cast, like, we're going to talk about what's next in television.
01:40And it's because West Coast hip-hop stories, they just keep continuing.
01:46All right?
01:47So in this segment, it's brought to you by Disney and FX.
01:52Please welcome the cast of...
01:56The Drop the Snowfall Saga!
01:59Yes!
01:59We got Gail Bean, Isaiah John, Ashanti Black, Peyton Allen Smith, and Simi Buddy Simms III.
02:08Give it up for them, y'all.
02:09Y'all, come on out!
02:12Love you, Kelly!
02:13Good afternoon.
02:14Good afternoon.
02:15Beautycon is temporarily shut down due to overcrowding.
02:20Again, Beautycon is temporarily shut down.
02:24Thank you for your cooperation.
02:26We'll advise when it's reopened.
02:28All right.
02:29Hello, Essence Fest family.
02:31How are you guys doing today?
02:33Do I have any Snowfall fans in the audience?
02:39Okay.
02:40Well, then I think you guys are in for a little treat.
02:43Before the cast comes out here, I want you guys to see a teaser of what's coming next.
02:50Are you ready?
02:51All right.
02:52Let's roll it.
02:53Music brought me back to life.
02:58And you, something special.
03:01From the dope gang to the rap gang.
03:05I can't not do this.
03:08Don't make dollars.
03:09It don't make sense.
03:14Me and you?
03:15We can't lose.
03:16Don't make dollars.
03:18It don't make sense.
03:19Don't make dollars.
03:20It don't make sense.
03:22Don't make dollars.
03:23All right, y'all ready for you to bring him out?
03:26All right.
03:27Without further ado, please welcome to the stage, Buddy.
03:31Payton Alex Smith, Asante Black.
03:36There we go.
03:38Isaiah John, and Gail Bean.
03:48Hello, hello, hello.
03:50What's going on, New Orleans?
03:53What up, y'all?
03:54What's cracking?
03:57All right.
03:58You know, guys, let's start here.
03:59You know, I want to talk about the late, great John Singleton, who truly believed that every story in our
04:06community deserved to be told with honesty and complexity.
04:11Let's talk about this series in particular.
04:13How does this continue to honor that legacy that John left for us?
04:17Let's start with you two.
04:19Oh, man.
04:20I mean, just like you said, we like to start with truth.
04:23And that authenticity is something that John was very keen on as far as Snowfall is concerned.
04:29And with the drop, I think that's the main thing.
04:32We're trying to be as authentic as possible and tell an authentic story.
04:36Yeah.
04:36And I think it also comes through in our performances.
04:40Like John always told us to tell our truth.
04:42Because we can't always rely on everyone else to do their part when it comes to our stories.
04:47As long as we show up and fully express and embolden the character of Wanda, Leon, the city of Los
04:54Angeles, the era of 1990s, and the rise of West Coast, then I think we'll hit the mark every time.
05:00Yes, I love that.
05:01Now, let's start here.
05:04Why the continuation of the story?
05:06Why was this needed to be told?
05:07And where were you guys when you got that official phone call that this was going to happen?
05:11Because the fans have been waiting for this, right?
05:14Yes.
05:14They've been waiting for this for a while.
05:16So let's start there.
05:17Where were you guys when you got that phone call?
05:19And why this continuation?
05:20Why is it necessary?
05:22When we were told about the drop and they were going to do a Snowfall spinoff, we were literally in
05:28Ghana.
05:28Filming, we were shooting season six, episode three.
05:32Okay.
05:33And they came and told me and Isaiah.
05:35It just couldn't have been a better moment to be in the continent of the motherland and then hear great
05:42news that a show that I auditioned for in 2017 and he auditioned for in 2016.
05:47Wow.
05:48We'll continue on and here we are a decade later.
05:51But it was a rumor at the time.
05:52It wasn't guaranteed.
05:53Yeah.
05:54It really wasn't guaranteed until almost up until filming.
05:57But yeah, we heard the rumor.
05:59It required some patience.
06:01Yeah, for sure.
06:01Let's bring the new guys in here.
06:03What made you guys want to be a part of this story, of this saga?
06:07The money.
06:11That definitely had a part in it.
06:13Nah, but man, let's bring it back to what you said.
06:15I think that, you know, the legendary John Singleton being somebody who's able to tell our stories in a way
06:21that, you know, we don't always get to see ourselves represented.
06:25That's first and foremost.
06:26I mean, we all fans of Snowfall.
06:29You know what I'm saying?
06:29Yeah.
06:30John Singleton killed that, didn't he?
06:33Didn't he?
06:33You know what I'm saying?
06:34Yeah.
06:35So just to be able to be a part of a continuation where we are, you know, showcasing who we
06:40are as a people.
06:42And that comes with the greatness that we got.
06:44Also the, you know, a little bit of, you know, the lack of, I guess, or the figuring out of
06:54how we really express that greatness in a way that benefits us long term.
07:00Yeah.
07:00That's what we're trying to figure out with the drop, with the 90s, with 90s hip hop.
07:04How do we turn something that we own, that we create, that we really hold the power in and turn
07:10it into something that benefits us for the future?
07:12You know, so, yeah, that's my, that's my answer.
07:15I love that.
07:16Peyton, buddy, let's bring you guys in.
07:17What made you guys want to be a part of this series?
07:20Uh, I mean, I, I originally, um, auditioned for the, the original, uh, Snowfall and like, uh, went pretty far.
07:28Supposed to be Leon.
07:29And I remember like, that's how even me and Isaiah became brothers.
07:32And I was like, man, who got that part?
07:34Man, I was talking, you know, I was, I was talking crazy.
07:37Then I saw it and I said, Ooh.
07:40Ooh, no, I see why, I see why he got it.
07:42And so like, um, you know, just a huge fan of the, the show.
07:46Uh, what, uh, uh, Gail did with, uh, with her arc on the show.
07:50Um, Isaiah as well, like all of them, uh, as a collective had crazy, uh, crazy arcs.
07:56And so, uh, and the storytelling on there was something that like, I was looking forward to be a part
08:01of.
08:01Um, I like, uh, period pieces.
08:04So that was, uh, that was another thing that kind of drew me into it.
08:07Uh, you know, John, uh, uh, rest in peace was a legend.
08:12And so, um, just to be a part of the world that he created.
08:15And then, uh, me and, uh, Isaiah, that's like my brother.
08:18And I remember being at his, uh, uh, base, his basement back in Atlanta and, um, kind of manifesting this.
08:24We got it written down somewhere.
08:26It was like, I think I was finishing up, uh, all American.
08:29Um, and, uh, we were like, yo, we gonna work together.
08:32I don't care when it is or whatever.
08:34And we're just like knocking out auditions in his basement.
08:37No, no, no, no.
08:38And then, um, and then I went to New York and this finally came around.
08:42He called me.
08:42He was like, you ready?
08:43And I was like, I hope so.
08:45And, um, and yeah, so I was, I was excited.
08:48Like, and it was crazy.
08:50Cause I didn't even like the road, like kind of like dropped in front of me.
08:54Like I made sure not to tell anybody a part of production that I knew Isaiah.
08:57Cause I wanted to be like, I wanted to get it off my own merit.
09:01Like if I wasn't supposed to be there, then I wasn't supposed to be there.
09:04You know what I mean?
09:04So I went in and like did it on my own.
09:06And I wasn't even like the character that I'm playing at first.
09:09You know what I mean?
09:09Like I went out for his and then obviously he a better rapper than me.
09:13So I wouldn't, I didn't have a chance.
09:15So then it came around and, but yeah, that's why I'm just really blessed to be a part of it.
09:20I love that buddy.
09:21Last but not least, what about yourself?
09:23What made you want to be a part of this?
09:24I'm from Compton.
09:26So as an LA native, it's really tight to represent for the city.
09:31The best way I know how doing my thing, like how I be doing.
09:35Yeah.
09:37Well, I want to stay with you because you also are an artist and in real life too.
09:42What was that like for you transitioning to what you can tell us, a fictional version of an artist in
09:50this series?
09:51It's interesting.
09:52You know, life imitates art.
09:54Yeah.
09:54So I feel really connected to the character, his story, just trying to make music and tell like his perspective
10:02of his experience in the city at the time.
10:05It was a different era and I was able to convey it very well.
10:10And I look good on them nice ass cameras too.
10:15Yes, you do.
10:16Gail, I want to kick it back to you because Wanda had one of the most remarkable arcs that we've
10:21ever seen from a character in serial television period.
10:24We watched her survive addiction, reclaim herself, and now she's chasing a dream.
10:29How has playing this version of Wanda challenged you as an actor?
10:33I was very afraid when they decided to get Wanda clean.
10:38The redemption story scared me a little bit because from that, one, all of the performances of Wanda, sober to
10:47being an addict,
10:48was based off of real life, firsthand, not actually participating in drugs, but seeing it plague my family.
10:56And I had never seen the portion where they get clean.
11:00Yeah.
11:00So I was a little nervous and scared about that, how it would be received.
11:03I didn't want it to come off as a caricature.
11:07I didn't want to do anybody who has survived addiction a disservice.
11:12So that scared me a lot, even in the drop, how we are seeing Wanda face basically her past and
11:20her reputation.
11:21I was a little nervous about how that may come off.
11:23Maybe it might get too quickly, but I just tried to stay grounded in the truth of my performance.
11:28Yeah.
11:29And those who I have talked to, because now there are a lot of people who have overcome addiction
11:33and they are inspired by her story or maybe their parents or a sibling, someone in their family.
11:39Like every person that I know has some sort of experience with crack cocaine epidemic,
11:45whether it's firsthand or by a family member or some sort of hand-me-down.
11:49Yeah.
11:50So it is nice to be able to hear those stories and be able to accurately portray them.
11:53So I was a little nervous that it would be taken the wrong way, but I try to just stay
11:58focused
11:58on the truth of their performance and telling the story of people who I'm representing.
12:02Absolutely.
12:02Absolutely.
12:03Thank you for that really thoughtful response.
12:07I'm going to you, Isaiah.
12:09You know, Leon has always carried the weight of trying to do the right thing in a world that
12:13rarely rewards it.
12:14What does redemption look like for him now in this new version?
12:19You know, we find Leon really trying to understand where he is and how he's processing the world around him.
12:27Yeah.
12:28He's experienced a lot that transformed his way of thinking.
12:33And he's still attached to his wife in a lot of ways.
12:39Yeah.
12:39He's really honestly just trying to figure out where he fits in in this new world.
12:43Yeah.
12:43Of music.
12:45And yeah, it's very interesting.
12:46I'm excited for everyone to see this, this transition and the battles that he faces because
12:52these are some real battles that I feel like the people that I've talked to that may have
12:56a similar background to Leon.
12:59Yeah.
12:59It's battles that I've seen and people that I love.
13:02You know what I mean?
13:02So it's something I feel like people will connect to.
13:05Can I just say, I also love in the drop that Leon is trying to make amends for some of
13:10his past transgressions that a lot of times we do things.
13:13And in the thick of it, we don't know they're wrong, but in hindsight, we're like, how do
13:18I make up for all the wrong that I've done?
13:21Yeah.
13:21How do I justify people who are no longer with us, whose lives are completely decimated
13:27because of my actions.
13:28And I love witnessing him battle with that character of I've done wrong or I've caused
13:35wrong on somebody.
13:36And you, you can't, a person that you have unalive, you can't bring them back.
13:40Yeah.
13:40So how can I sleep at night?
13:42Yeah.
13:43Yeah.
13:44Let's talk about being on set, you know, and you guys really going back in time to
13:49the nineties, my favorite era.
13:51What was that like?
13:52And when did you guys know that you nailed it and that you felt you were authentically
13:56living in this space that you've recreated?
13:58Can I just say, I've been having the most fun of my entire career on this set.
14:03I mean, we in the nineties, yo.
14:05Like we are literally shaking culture.
14:09You know what I'm saying?
14:10Yeah.
14:11Huh?
14:12Yeah.
14:12I wasn't even born.
14:13You know what I'm saying?
14:14Like I wasn't even born in the nineties.
14:16So I'm able to experience something that I got no idea what the energy was like, but
14:21being able to feel like just a sense of that, of that replication.
14:25I think that that's honestly what the audiences are going to look the most forward to.
14:29Y'all going to be turning up with us.
14:30You know what I'm saying?
14:31So get ready.
14:32Yeah.
14:32We got low riders.
14:33I got a pager.
14:34Hey, listen, when they gave me my pager on set, I had never been so excited.
14:38I've been waiting to.
14:39We got landline.
14:41I've been waiting to hear somebody with that.
14:43Asante had to put a tape in a cassette player and couldn't figure out how to put the tape
14:46in a cassette player.
14:48We really took it back to the nineties.
14:49And it was just funny seeing people who aren't born in the nineties experience this in real
14:55time of like, this is how y'all listen to music.
14:58Like you had to stop.
15:00You had to rewind.
15:01You had to fast forward.
15:03You had to use two tapes to record.
15:05So it's very nostalgic.
15:07I think with buddy, he had, he's a rapper, but rapping in the nineties.
15:12Yeah.
15:13I go hard.
15:14My character is tight.
15:17I love seeing, uh, I think me and Kale had a scene and it was, it was funny watching
15:21her dial that phone and see.
15:26And then buddy, I would imagine, especially because you are a West Coast rapper, the authenticity
15:31and nailing that seemed to be especially important for you.
15:35So what was the moment for you where you said, without revealing too much, but where you
15:39said, okay, I think we got it.
15:40Like we're, we're in here.
15:41We're in here.
15:42When I walked into the audition.
15:44Okay.
15:45I was like, I got it.
15:51You knew it immediately.
15:52And what about, you know, as, as the, as the story was coming together, you know,
15:58was there anything that felt like the cast was really jelly?
16:01Like what was the moment where the cast really like gel to you and really felt that 1990s
16:07authentic West Coast vibe?
16:09We did the pilot and then we had some time before we did the rest of this first season.
16:15But once we got on that soundstage and was like a month in, these are like my best friends.
16:22We became one big happy family.
16:24Yeah.
16:24It's all laugh and love on set.
16:27And it's a beautiful time.
16:29Yeah.
16:29Yeah.
16:29And it also like helps that like LA is like, uh, super high up on the call sheet.
16:35You know what I mean?
16:35Like coming to set, like a lot of the people who like, who are extras and everything like
16:40they, they're from there.
16:41And so it's like, it's hard to not feel like you you're in that space.
16:46And then like with our great teams with like, uh, our art department props, everything like
16:51it kind of transports us into that world.
16:53And all we really got to do is be present.
16:55You know what I mean?
16:55I even know that like, you know, some people might remember Dampson doing his first interview
17:00for snowfall and talking about the experience of me and Dub C for the first time.
17:05Yeah.
17:05And Dub C being a part of this series too.
17:07Now I get to talk to Dub C all the time and get an understanding of, you know what I'm
17:12saying?
17:12Just like what it was really like, how to move, how to exist and how to make your own
17:18name and really stand on that, especially in a culture that everybody's fighting to be
17:22heard, you know?
17:23So yeah.
17:24And then I think the beauty of shooting on location, like actually being in LA, being
17:29in the Dons, being in Long Beach, being in the jungles that really influences us too.
17:35And it helps us have like an experience all together that's like one of one.
17:40Mm-hmm.
17:41Mm-hmm.
17:41So at the heart of this story, it's not just a story about music.
17:45It's not just a story about family.
17:47It's really about also reinvention, right?
17:51Out of all of your characters, without revealing anything delicious, because we don't want you
17:57guys to do that, whose character's journey do you think that the audience might kind of
18:02pick up on and relate to the most?
18:04Mine.
18:05Okay.
18:08Okay, but say more.
18:10Say more.
18:11I ain't gonna lie.
18:12The origin story from how I start and then the development over time and then the transition
18:17from where I end up at the end of the first season, y'all gonna love it.
18:21Okay.
18:23It's a reason to watch.
18:25Before I let you guys go, I'm gonna ask you what I think probably might be the most difficult
18:29question you're ever gonna get asked.
18:32Let's go back to 90s hip hop.
18:34We can stay in West Coast too.
18:36What is the song that is definitely gonna be on the playlist for your character in this show?
18:42All eyes on me, Tupac.
18:45All eyes on me, Tupac.
18:46All eyes on me, Tupac?
18:46Okay.
18:47Okay.
18:47Okay.
18:47That's good.
18:48Hey, I gotta go two of America's most wanted.
18:51Okay.
18:52Tupac and Snoop.
18:53Oh, that's a good one.
18:54That's a good one.
18:56Jayden?
18:57I actually got it on my character playlist.
18:59Shorty want to be a thug, Tupac.
19:01A lot of Tupac so far.
19:03Okay.
19:03I gotta go California love Tupac.
19:06Okay.
19:07All right.
19:07Cool.
19:08Cool.
19:08I'm gonna do something like, you know, I'll be on my vibe.
19:11Gin and Juice.
19:12Gin and Juice is definitely on my playlist.
19:13Gin and Juice.
19:14That's a good one.
19:15Okay.
19:15So it's a lot of Tupac and a little Snoop and I love it.
19:18Yeah.
19:19Ladies and gentlemen, The Drop premieres on FX September 8th.
19:23You can also watch it on Hulu and Disney Plus.
19:27Thank you guys.
19:28And also, we gotta acknowledge Gail,
19:30cause you've been killing the 1990s looks for at least like a good few weeks.
19:34Yeah, Gail.
19:35Look at her.
19:35Come on.
19:36Okay.
19:36Yes.
19:39Yes.
19:40Yes.
19:40Come on now.
19:43She's hit us with French roll.
19:45Yes.
19:46All that.
19:47I love it.
19:49Thank you guys so much.
19:50Continued success.
19:51Really looking forward to this series.
19:53Can't wait.
19:53Are you guys excited?
19:55Yeah?
19:56Whoa.
19:57I think they're excited.
19:58Appreciate you.
19:59Thank you guys.
20:00If you don't want the producers dancing all in the videos.
20:23примерно these videos.
20:25Thank you guys so much.
20:25And we'll have some fun.
20:26Can you see you next time again?
Comments