Soulful singer Erykah Badu will take a break from promoting her upcoming new album, "Mama's Gun," to perform a concert and speak to inmates at Rikers Island Correctional Facility in New York City on Friday, October 27.

A special events coordinator for the city's Department of Corrections confirmed Badu's planned performance on that date and said the event, which will be closed to the public, is part of a continuing series of appearances by various hip-hop artists at the prison.

Badu's label rep at Motown Records said that the singer is hoping her visit to the facility will send a positive message and help encourage inmates about their options once they are released.

Flipmode Squad rapper Rah Digga played at Rikers earlier this year (see [article id="1428088"]"Rah Digga To Play Show At Rikers Island"[/article]), and both Fat Joe and the late Big Punisher performed there in 1998.

As for Badu, her latest single, "Bag Lady," has

been number one on the "Billboard" R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart for the past four weeks. "Mama's Gun," Badu's long-awaited studio follow-up to her 1997 debut, "Baduizm," is due out on November 21.