Voletta Wallace, Mother and Legacy Protector of The Notorious B.I.G., Dies at 78
Voletta Wallace, the devoted mother of legendary rapper The Notorious B.I.G. and fierce guardian of his legacy, passed away Friday morning at the age of 78.
Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac confirmed that Wallace died of natural causes at her home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, after receiving hospice care.
Wallace’s son, Christopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G., was tragically shot and killed in Los Angeles in 1997 at the age of 24. His murder remains unsolved. Since his passing, Wallace became a tireless advocate for his legacy, initially dismissing his music as “noise” but later embracing it as a testament to his lyrical brilliance.
In a 2017 interview, she recalled the emotional moment she finally listened to his music:
“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.’”
Determined to honor her son’s memory, Wallace launched the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, which provides educational resources for children. In 2003, she also paid tribute to the mothers of other artists who died too soon, including Aaliyah, Tupac Shakur, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, and Jam Master Jay, through the foundation’s “B.I.G. Night Out” benefit event.
Wallace was also active in the legal fight for justice, filing and later dropping a wrongful death lawsuit against a former suspect and the Los Angeles Police Department, which she accused of failing to properly investigate her son’s murder.
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