Voletta Wallace, the devoted mother of late rap legend The Notorious B.I.G., passed away Friday morning at the age of 78
Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac confirmed her death to The Associated Press, stating that she died of natural causes at her home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, after a period in hospice care.
A representative for The Notorious B.I.G.’s estate has not yet commented on her passing.
Wallace was a tireless guardian of her son’s legacy. Born Christopher Wallace, he rose to fame as one of hip-hop’s most influential voices, vividly detailing life in Brooklyn through his music. Initially, she dismissed his work as “noise,” but after his tragic passing, she gained a new appreciation for his talent.
“I remembered my son said, ‘Don’t listen to my music.’ And I never listened to his music,” she told AP in 2017, 30 years after his passing. “I heard it on the radio, and it sounded good because it was clean. But I said, ‘You know what, I have to. I have to listen to that music.’ And that’s what I did.”
Recalling that emotional moment, she added, “I cried so much that day just listening to the music. I remember I sat, I stood. I rested my head on the stereo, and I just cried like a baby. And that was therapy for me. And I said, ‘Oh my God — that was a talented young man to put those words together.’ He had a beautiful voice. I love his voice.”
In 2021, Wallace served as an executive producer on the Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell. She reflected on her unexpected role in the public eye following her son’s death.
“They never knew me. The public never knew me,” she said. “I was thrust into this environment after he passed away because I’m a very private person. Extremely private… What he was doing out there, maybe I should have known. But honestly, I didn’t. And to this day, there are people who are saying, ‘Oh, she knew.’ (whispers) But I never knew.”
The Notorious B.I.G. was shot and killed at age 24 in Los Angeles in 1997, and his murder remains unsolved.
His 1994 debut album, Ready to Die, has sold over six million copies as of 2018, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, featuring hits like Big Poppa and Juicy. His sophomore album, Life After Death, released just two weeks after his murder, sold over 11 million copies and produced timeless No. 1 singles such as Mo Money Mo Problems and Hypnotize.
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RIP