VH1 Soul will kick off the summer with its third annual “Summer Of Soul” campaign, a summer-long celebration of soul featuring R&B, Grammy Award-Winning artists Rihanna and Ne-Yo beginning Friday, July 4 – Monday, September 1. Taping at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, on-air commentator Solange Knowles will host and interview some of the biggest names in R&B today reminiscing on their all-time favorite songs, moments and memories of summer. The “Summer of Soul” line-up will include two new Top 10 “Summer of Soul” countdowns, in which each VH1 Soul artist will host an hour of their top 10 favorite summer videos, as well as brand new “Summer Of Soul” interstitials which will include cool, fun, lifestyle oriented questions about summer.

Premiering Friday, July 4 at 9PM* the “Summer of Soul” campaign will include all-new on-air graphics, artists discussing their favorite summer activities, and new programming including summer editions of the Top 10 “Summer of Soul” countdown hosted by Rihanna on Friday, July 4 at 9PM*, as well as the Top 10 “Summer of Soul” countdown hosted by Ne-Yo on Monday, July 14 at 8PM*. *All times ET/PT

VH1Soul "Summer Of Soul” is a production of VH1. Lee Rolontz and Keshia Williams are executive producers.

Launched in 1997, VH1 Soul is the 24-hour network that brings music lovers the hottest, soul, neo-soul an R&B hits from the 90s and today featuring core artists such as Alicia Keys, Jill Scott, Outkast, Mary J. Blige and Usher. VH1 Soul, the premier source for all R&B and soul music, is now seen in the Top 20 U.S. markets for African-Americans and is available in nearly 20 million U.S. households.