Voletta Wallace, the mother of legendary American rapper, The Notorious B.I.G., has passed away at the age of 78.
Monroe County Coroner’s Office in Pennsylvania confirmed her death on Friday, February 21.
Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac told Billboard, “Voletta has died, on hospice care, at her residence in Stroudsburg, Penn. Voletta died of natural causes.”
TMZ first reported the news, with a representative for The Notorious B.I.G.’s estate also confirming her passing earlier on Friday.
Born in Jamaica, Wallace immigrated to the United States and later gave birth to Christopher Wallace, who would go on to become the iconic rapper known as The Notorious B.I.G., on May 21, 1972, in Brooklyn.
She worked as a preschool teacher and raised Biggie as a single mother, witnessing his rise to stardom in the hip-hop world.
During his brief but impactful career, The Notorious B.I.G. signed with Diddy’s Bad Boy Records and released two influential albums, Ready to Die and Life After Death.
The latter debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and was released just weeks after his tragic murder in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997, at just 24 years old.
Biggie’s music became an essential part of East Coast hip-hop’s golden era in the 1990s, with classics like Juicy, Hypnotize, Ten Crack Commandments, Going Back to Cali, and Mo Money Mo Problems securing his legacy.
Determined to honour her son’s memory, Wallace established the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation and worked tirelessly to preserve his legacy and manage his estate.
She was also a producer on the 2009 biopic Notorious, which depicted her son’s life story on the big screen. In the film, she was portrayed by actress Angela Bassett.
In 2020, The Notorious B.I.G. was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Wallace proudly accepted the honour on his behalf.
Speaking to Billboard at the time, she expressed her emotions, “Today, I’m feeling great. As a mother, I’m extremely proud of his accomplishments. You know, I still see such a young man at a young age, and sadly, he’s not here to witness all this. But it’s an astute honor, and as a mother, I’m just elated for that.”
In recent months, Wallace continued to celebrate her son’s influence in hip-hop, sharing his achievements on Instagram, including 992 million Spotify streams in 2024 and over 2.5 billion all-time streams on Apple Music.
She is survived by her grandchildren, C.J. Wallace and T’yanna Wallace, the children of The Notorious B.I.G.
