Biggie Smalls’ mother, Voletta Wallace, dead at 72
Biggie Smalls‘ mother has reportedly passed away at the age of 72. Voletta Wallace died on February 21st in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
According to TMZ, Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac confirmed her death on Friday morning, having been in hospice care. Her cause of death was natural causes.
Biggie, considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in March 1997, shortly before the release of his second album, Life After Death. From that point, Voletta oversaw his estate, taking his net worth from $10 million to $160 million.
His mother produced the 2009 biopic Notorious, which saw her being played by Angela Bassett. During an interview with Screen Rant in 2021, she imagined what Biggie’s life would have been like if he wasn’t murdered.
“I try not to think about it, because sometimes, it could be depressing,” she said. “I always wonder, if my son was here, what would he be doing? I told somebody that maybe he would be in jail by now, but I know he would be a successful human being because he spoke about it and it was something that he believed in.”
She continued, “He influenced a lot of young individuals, because I see kids who weren’t even born yet when he died and still they’re saying how much they love my son music. These are people who weren’t even born yet when he died, so what would happen? What would have happened to him? Oh, Lord, I don’t even want to fathom that thought.”
Voletta famously appeared on the outro of his Born Again album in 1999. Speaking on ‘Ms. Wallace’, she said, “I’m aware that millions appreciate his music, millions loved his music. Be that it may, if he hadn’t chosen that lifestyle, that career, my son would be alive today. If I could sum up Christopher in one word, the word would be ‘generous.'”