Voletta Wallace, mother of the late American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., passed away at the age of 78.
She died of natural causes on Friday morning in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, according to the Monroe County Coroner.
Voletta Wallace was renowned for managing her son Biggie Smalls’ estate. Biggie Smalls, one of the leading hip-hop artists of his time, was tragically murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1997 at the age of 24.
By the time of Wallace’s death, her son’s estate was estimated to be worth $160 million, a significant increase from the $10 million it was valued at when Biggie was killed, according to TMZ.
Her passing comes months after her controversial comments about Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently in jail awaiting trial on multiple charges, including rape. In 1993, Biggie, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, became the first artist to sign with Diddy’s label, Bad Boy Records.
