Biggie‘s mother, Voletta Wallace, has passed away of natural causes at the age of 78.
TMZ confirmed the news on Friday (February 21), revealing that she passed away while in hospice care in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.
Hours later, the Instagram page for Biggie’s Invisible Bully clothing company shared a tribute.
“We suffered a tremendous loss today,” it read. “Our mother, our matriarch, the woman who dedicated herself to uplifting her son, Christopher Wallace, and preserving his legacy has passed away. It is with immense sadness that we share this news with you, and ask that you please give our family the space and time needed to grieve this monumental loss.
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“Thank you for your continued outpouring of love, prayers and condolences in this difficult time. In the coming days, we will share how we can all honor Ms. Wallace. Thank you for your immense support and love.”
HipHopDX sends our condolences to Ms. Wallace’s family and friends.
Voletta Wallace was in charge of Biggie’s estate after his passing, and grew it from around $10 million when he died in 1997 to over $160 million as it stands now.
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In one of her many business moves, Voletta brought her late son into the cryptocurrency market by entering the metaverse on what would’ve been his 50th birthday in 2022.
“I’m humbled and very excited to share what we’ve been working on for 2 years, which is now ready for Biggie fans new and old to enjoy. Today we bring my son Christopher’s Hyperrealistic avatar in The Brook metaverse to the world.. I believe you will love it as much as I do..,” she wrote.
Months prior, The Christopher Wallace Estate announced the first official Biggie NFT (non-fungible token) collection in partnership with the Quincy Jones-backed Web3 company OneOf. A percentage of the proceeds from the NFT collection will be donated to The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation.
The celebration of his life and career was especially highlighted during a ceremony where the Empire State Building in Manhattan was engulfed by light in the form of a spinning crown illuminated in red and white, serving as the deceased Bad Boy MC’s coronation as the King Of New York.
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Voletta was also in attendance for the event at the iconic NYC landmark and expressed her gratitude for the one-of-a-kind moment in an Instagram post.
“Tonight, the Empire State Building went B.I.G. Lighting up the city for my Son. Thank you for everyone who made this possible,” she wrote.
Additionally, multiple brands and organizations pledged tributes to commemorate Biggie’s 50th, which fell just weeks after the 25th anniversary of the fatal drive-by shooting in Los Angeles that took his life at the age of 24.
