Damon Dash, Tina Davis and Zaytoven give 21 up-and-coming R&B and hip-hop artists 30 seconds to prove they deserve to stay in the competition; the stakes are high as the playing field is cut to 12 contestants.

Competitors busk in Santa Monica, CA, then mentor Joe Budden preps the artists for the Cypher Challenge, which splits them up into two teams to perform group freestyles.

The artists must sing after running an obstacle course, and Tamar Braxton coaches four teams of artists through the elimination challenge.