The Notorious B.I.G.’s mother, Voletta Wallace, has died at 78 years old.
Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac confirmed to TMZ that the legendary rapper’s mother passed away on Friday, January 21st in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, where she had been receiving hospice care. Her cause of death is listed as natural causes.
Born and raised in Jamaica, Voletta Wallace eventually immigrated to Brooklyn, where she had her only child, Christopher, with Selwyn George Latore on May 21st, 1972. When Latore left the family just three months shy of their son’s third birthday, Wallace was left to raise the future Biggie Smalls as a single mother.
Following her son’s murder on March 9th, 1997, Voletta Wallace carried on his legacy and oversaw his estate. This included founding the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation and overseeing the 2009 biopic Notorious. She also published a memoir titled Biggie in 2005.