FX just dropped the trailer for The Drop: A Snowfall Saga, and if you thought you were done with this world, think again. The spinoff, set in 1990s Los Angeles in the aftermath of the crack epidemic, follows two of Snowfall‘s most beloved characters: Wanda Bell, played by Gail Bean, and Leon Simmons, played by Isaiah John.

The trailer has the same energy that made Snowfall a cultural institution: South Central grit, moral complexity, and the unmistakable pulse of an era that changed everything. This time, the backdrop is the rise of West Coast rap, and the stakes are just as high as they’ve ever been.

The series picks up with Wanda driven by a belief that West Coast rap has the power to change American culture. She sets out to build a group of geniuses, chase the realization of their collective dreams, and navigate the dangerous overlap of music and street politics.

To do it, she leans on the people closest to her, including her cousins Lamar Kinsey, played by Asante Blackk, and James Kinsey, played by Peyton Alex Smith, while pursuing volatile local rapper Artillery, played by Simmie “Buddy” Sims III, who is already caught in a tangle with law enforcement.

An internship with former D-boy-turned-label-owner Darryl “DG” Grant, played by Brandon Mychal Smith, opens doors but deepens tensions between Wanda and Leon, who has made a vow to leave the streets behind for good and build something different through a free legal clinic.

“Music brought me back to life,” Wanda says in the opening. “This is the new Gold Rush. No cops, no murder. From the dope gang to the rap gang.” And later, the line that frames everything: “A new world opened up, and I’m at the front of it.”

For Isaiah John, who has played Leon Simmons since he was 20 years old, stepping back into this character for The Drop was both a homecoming and a new challenge. “I done put so much love and tears and everything into this character,” John said in a conversation with The Quintessential Gentleman earlier this summer. “It was really cool. It was refreshing to just see where this character can go. We have new writers. So just seeing where this character is in that new world, it was challenging, it was fun, and it grew me as an actor for sure.”

Part of what made stepping back in feel right was who was waiting on the other side. John had been friends with Peyton Alex Smith for years before they finally got to share a set. “We’ve been friends for years and we used to talk about, man, we gonna work together,” John said. “And he ended up booking a role on the show. So working with just familiar faces and friends, that’s what really pumped me up and motivated me to be like, let’s do this.”

The Drop: A Snowfall Saga premieres on FX September 8. The trailer is out now.