Although rappers often praise their moms in their music, it’s rare that one of those mothers rises to a level of notoriety among hip-hop fans similar to their famous offspring. But Voletta Wallace, mother of the late Notorious B.I.G., AKA Biggie Smalls, was one of those rarities. Today, TMZ reports that Ms. Wallace has died at the age of 78 from natural causes, after spending the last 28 years fighting for justice for her son’s murder.
Ms. Wallace was the executor of Biggie’s estate, ensuring that his name and legacy lived on long past his death in March 1997. According to TMZ, when B.I.G. died, his estate was worth $10 million and now, 28 years later, it’s estimated to be worth $160 million, with much of that going to his kids, T’yanna and C. J. Wallace. Throughout her life, Voletta used her platform to talk about and promote Biggie’s works, and was a consultant on a number of films about his life and career, including the 2009 biopic Notorious and more recently, the documentary Biggie: I Got A Story To Tell.
Voletta had spent the last few weeks of her life in hospice care, dying this morning in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, as confirmed by the Monroe County Coroner.
