Faith Evans accused of keeping profits from Biggie Smalls’ $100 million catalogue sale
Biggie Smalls‘ widow, Faith Evans, is being sued over shares of his catalogue related to his mother. The singer has been accused of refusing to share profits from the Primary Wave deal with the estate of Voletta Wallace (also known as Mama Wallace), who died in February.
Wayne Barrow, the executor of Biggie’s estate, filed a lawsuit on July 2nd, which was unsealed on July 8th.
According to Billboard, the documents reference a “transformative” sale made by Voletta, who sold half of Biggie’s portfolio to Primary Wave before she died. The deal was reportedly worth $100 million and transferred rights including his name, image, and likeness.
Evans became the manager of Biggie LLC after Voletta’s death and is allegedly responsible for giving Barrow its cut from the profits.
“Ms Evans has distributed sale proceeds to Ty’anna, CJ, and presumably to herself,” he wrote. “She, however, has wrongfully withheld the Trust’s [redacted] share of the proceeds, in the amount of [redacted].”
Barrow claims Evans has kept him “entirely in the dark about the business and affairs of the LLC” and refused to recognise Voletta as a 50% member.
The suit continues, “Ms Evans’ actions are particularly troubling given that, unlike Mr Barrow, she has never previously been involved in the LLC’s management.
Barrow wants to remove Evans as manager in place of himself over “continued misconduct and disregard for her obligations.”
Voletta passed away on February 21st at the age of 72. She died in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, while receiving hospice care, with her cause of death listed as natural causes.
Evans and Biggie met in 1994 and married eight days later. A collaborative album was posthumously released in 2017; The King & I debuted at number 65 on the Billboard 200 with features from Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Sheek Louch, Styles P, Lil Kim, Jadakiss, 112, and Lil Cease.