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