Four legendary R&B acts and one younger R&B veteran are poised to hit the road for a series of concerts across the U.S. this summer that's been dubbed the "Summer Music Festival" tour. The legends are Maze feat. Frankie Beverly, a group that's worked together for over 30 years and is best known for '80s hits like "Back in Stride," "Joy and Pain" and "Silky Soul;" Patti LaBelle, who's had a career in entertainment that's spanned parts of seven decades and has had a long string of hits, including "Love, Need and Want You" and "New Attitude;" Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, the singer-songwriter of "Whip Appeal" fame; and the O'Jays, whose lead singer, Eddie Levert, just released his first-ever solo album in May 2012. They'll be joined on tour by singer-songwriter Tank, who just released his fifth studio album, the chart-topping This is How I Feel, earlier this month. The collective's "Summer Music Festival" tour kicks off July 13 in Detroit, Michigan and travels through much of the U.S. before winding down Aug. 11 in Los Angeles. The current itinerary, which is subject to change, is included below. For the latest schedule and ticket info, check out livenation.com.

"Summer Music Festival" 2012 Tour Schedule:

1. July 13 -- Detroit, MI -- DTE Music Theater
2. July 14 -- Chicago, IL -- Charter One Pavilion
3. July 15 -- St. Louis, MO -- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
4. July 19 -- Atlanta, GA -- Chastain Park Amphitheatre
5. July 21 -- Charlotte, NC -- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
6. July 22 --Virginia Beach, VA -- Farm Bureau Live Amphitheatre
7. July 25 -- New York, NY -- Jones Beach Amphitheatre
8. July 27 -- Philadelphia, PA -- Mann Music Center
9. July 29 -- Washington, DC -- Verizon Center
10. Aug. 1 -- Raleigh, NC -- Walnut Creek Amphitheatre
11. Aug. 3 -- Dallas, TX -- Gexa Amphitheatre
12. Aug. 4 -- Houston, TX -- Toyota Center
13. Aug. 5 -- New Orleans --  N.O. Arena
14. Aug. 10 -- Oakland, CA -- Sleep Train @ Concord
15. Aug. 11 -- Los Angeles -- Gibson Amphitheatre

Have you ever been with someone who's so good in bed that they make you wanna just stay attached to them all the time? And the sex is so good that it makes you neglect or forget about your everyday responsibilities, like work or doing laundry or even picking up the kids from school? If so, then you can probably relate to "Lazy Love," the first official single from Ne-Yo's upcoming R.E.D. album. (The title, which stands for Realizing Every Dream, thankfully replaced the album's original name, The Cracks in Mr. Perfect.) On "Lazy Love," Ne-Yo sings about how being consumed with lovemaking has it's ups and downs (heh heh): "I gotta go, I got responsibilities I gotta take care of/that's when you wrap them legs around me, and I fall victim to that lazy love," he croons. "You got that I-don't-wanna-go-nowhere, that lazy love." This song's a little unexpected from Ne-Yo, since in recent years, his singles have mostly been electronic/dance numbers, not sensual ballads. But if this is the direction he's taking with R.E.D., it's a good one and a welcome change of pace. The album's due out Sept. 18, 2012, and you can stream the highly recommended "Lazy Love" via the top link below.

• "Lazy Love" audio stream (via soundcloud.com)
• R&B Artist Bio: Ne-Yo

If success in the contemporary music world was predicated upon an artist's ability to sing strongly and with conviction, then Soul crooner Ryan Shaw would be one of the best known, most successful vocalists in the industry. Because unlike many of his musical peers, Ryan doesn't hide behind production wizardry, studio tricks or guest vocalists on his songs. On his second album, Real Love, which is being released in the U.S. May 15, 2012, his rich, powerful and emotive voice is front and center, giving Real Love the type of warm, personal sound that's missing from much of today's R&B and Soul music. For more, click the link to check out the full review of Ryan Shaw's Real Love.

• Album Review: Ryan Shaw - Real Love
• Music: Ryan Shaw - "Karina"
• R&B Artist Bio: Ryan Shaw

Some of the more interesting R&B-related news and rumors from the past week:

• The former brother-in-law of singer-actress Jennifer Hudson has been found guilty of murdering Jennifer's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. Prosecutors had alleged during the two-week trial that the shooter, William Balfour, committed the crimes because he was upset that his estranged wife -- Jennifer's sister Julia -- had been seeing another man.
• A reality show featuring members of the late Whitney Houston's family is in the works. "The Houston Family Chronicles" will focus on Whitney's former manager and sister-in-law, Pat Houston, but Whitney's mother Cissy Houston, cousin Dionne Warwick and daughter Bobbi Kristina, will also appear.
• Chris Brown has been added to the list of performers at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards, which air live May 20 on ABC. Other scheduled performers include Usher and Cee-Lo Green.
• And speaking of Chris Brown, he reportedly upset Rihanna with a freestyle about an ex girlfriend that some people have interpreted as a thinly-veiled diss of her.
• R. Kelly has just dropped the latest single from his upcoming album, Write Me Back. The album, which is due June 19, is the sequel to his 2010 release, Love Letter.
• Bobby Brown is marrying his girlfriend in Hawaii during the weekend of June 15, which is about 10 days after his latest album, The Masterpiece, is due out.
• R&B one-hit-wonder Houston, best known for his 2004 song "I Like That" with Nate Dogg, was arrested in Southern California recently.
• The upcoming album by Soul singer Ryan Shaw can be streamed exclusively at essence.com up until it's May 15 release.