![\"WASHINGTON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/FX_TheDropDC_047.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe story of FX\u2019s \u201cSnowfall\u201d is moving from the drug game to the rap game.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Drop: A Snowfall Saga,\u201d a continuation of the \u201cSnowfall\u201d universe, picks up with Wanda Bell and Leon Simmons, played by Gail Bean and Isaiah John, as they try to reinvent themselves in 1990s Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
The new series trades the crack cocaine epidemic that drove \u201cSnowfall\u201d for the emergence of West Coast hip-hop, following characters navigating a rapidly changing Los Angeles where music is becoming a new source of power, money and opportunity.<\/p>\n
The stars and producers gathered Tuesday, Sept. 1, at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., for the series’ red carpet premiere, celebrating a story set during one of the most consequential periods in American music.<\/p>\n
For John, Leon’s journey is about reckoning with his past.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, I think he’s trying to right a lot of his wrongs,\u201d John said at the premiere. \u201cHe’s trying to overcompensate in a way for all of the wrong he’s done in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leon is searching for peace after everything he experienced in \u201cSnowfall,\u201d while Wanda is determined to find a new path forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing that is consistent with Wanda is she’s very unorthodox,\u201d Bean said. \u201cFrom \u2018Snowfall\u2019 to \u2018The Drop,\u2019 she is still very unorthodox but she’s also very resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is definitely the definition of perseverance,\u201d Bean added. \u201cShe’s gonna find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the drug trade to the music industry<\/p>\n
The shift in subject matter may seem dramatic, but John sees a direct connection between the worlds of \u201cSnowfall\u201d and \u201cThe Drop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the gangsters on the streets, people that sold drugs, they didn’t have anywhere to put the money,\u201d John said. \u201cThey started investing in artists, trying to get a return.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it’s a natural exploration of what happened out in the West Coast during that time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That intersection between street money and the emerging music industry provides the foundation for the new series, which explores what happens when a generation that came of age during the crack epidemic begins looking toward hip-hop as a way to build something different.<\/p>\n
For Asante Blackk, who plays Lamar Kinsey, the reinvention is less about becoming someone new and more about finally having an outlet for something that was already inside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s being who he always was but in a way that has a channel that he’s never had before,\u201d Blackk said.<\/p>\n
Lamar has an ear for music and sees the rise of hip-hop as an opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cReinvention through what he loves,\u201d Blackk said.<\/p>\n
To get into the mindset of the character, Blackk said he listened to plenty of music from the era, including the \u201970s soul records that inspired the sampling that became a defining element of hip-hop.<\/p>\n
He also counts Kendrick Lamar, Nipsey Hussle and Joey Bada$$ among the artists he loves.<\/p>\n
Tupac’s shadow over the story<\/p>\n
No discussion of 1990s West Coast hip-hop would be complete without Tupac Shakur.<\/p>\n
With Tupac’s name back in the news, the rapper’s lasting influence is particularly timely as \u201cThe Drop\u201d revisits the era that helped make him an icon.<\/p>\n
John said Tupac’s importance to West Coast rap is undeniable, even though the rapper was born in New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though he wasn’t born on the West Coast, you can’t think of West Coast rap without thinking of Tupac,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s such an icon, especially within this culture,\u201d John added. \u201cHis life was short yet he did so much in a short period of time. I admire that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bean’s connection to Tupac is even more personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy love for Tupac is unmatched,\u201d she said when asked which rapper she would bring into \u201cThe Drop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bean said she would also want Snoop Dogg involved because \u201cthere ain’t no way you can honor West Coast rap without mentioning Snoop Dogg.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Tupac is my number one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
John, meanwhile, chose another influential Los Angeles rapper when asked which artist he would bring into the series: Nipsey Hussle.<\/p>\n
The choices underscore the show’s larger conversation about the artists who helped define West Coast hip-hop and the cultural legacy that continues decades later.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 1: Malcolm Spellman speaks during FX\u2019s \u201cThe Drop: A Snowfall Saga\u201d red carpet launch event at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on September 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Paul Morigi\/PictureGroup for FX)<\/p>\n
Keeping the music authentic<\/p>\n
For executive producer Malcolm Spellman, authenticity was a priority from the beginning.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing from the culture, it was super important to be authentic,\u201d Spellman said.<\/p>\n
The production brought music industry figures including Skipp Townsend, Glasses Malone and Jimmy Chris into the writers’ room and onto the set to help ensure the world being depicted felt genuine.<\/p>\n
And music isn’t simply background decoration in the series.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe music,\u201d Spellman said when asked what fans will be most surprised by.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese scenes are written around the music,\u201d he explained, noting that dialogue and song lyrics were incorporated into the scripts.<\/p>\n
The series also finds room for humor amid the drama.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot that it’s a comedy in any way,\u201d Spellman said, \u201cbut these characters just emerge in a way that real life does where sometimes the most tense or tragic situations become funny.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Spellman, the decision to revisit the \u201cSnowfall\u201d universe also comes at a moment when hip-hop itself is experiencing another major cultural shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cHip-hop right now… it’s a great tectonic time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
That idea of transformation is at the heart of \u201cThe Drop.\u201d The characters are trying to change their lives at the same time Los Angeles and the music industry around them are changing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Drop: A Snowfall Saga\u201d premieres Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 9 p.m. ET\/PT on FX and Hulu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The story of FX\u2019s \u201cSnowfall\u201d is moving from the drug game to the rap game. \u201cThe Drop: A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[48,52,51,47,50,49,4509],"class_list":["post-455723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-television"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}