Notorious B.I.G.’s Mother, Voletta Wallace, Dead at 78

Voletta Wallace, who maintained her son Notorious B.I.G.’s memory after his 1997 killing, is dead. She was 78. Wallace’s family confirmed her death in a statement through the rapper’s estate, calling it “a tremendous loss.” “Our mother, our matriarch, the woman who dedicated herself to uplifting her son, Christopher Wallace, and preserving his legacy has passed away,” the family said, per X. Wallace had been in hospice care at her home in Pennsylvania, the New York Times reported. She died of natural causes.

Wallace, who worked as a preschool teacher, stepped in to shepherd her son’s legacy after he was shot at age 24 and at the peak of his career. She accepted a Video Music Award for “Hypnotize” on Biggie’s behalf after his death; later, she appeared at the VMAs with the mother of Tupac Shakur, who was killed six months before Biggie amid a rivalry between the rappers. She went on to establish the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation in her son’s honor. Angela Bassett portrayed Wallace in the 2009 Biggie biopic, Notorious, which Wallace produced. Wallace remained a fierce protector of Biggie’s name through last year, when she said she wanted to “slap the daylights out of” his producer, Sean “Diddy” Combs, over his sex-trafficking allegations.

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