Voletta Wallace, passes away at 78: A tribute to her legacy

Voletta Wallace, mother of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G., passed away at age 78, leaving behind an enduring legacy of love, strength, and dedication.

Who was Voletta Wallace?
Voletta Wallace was a middle-class Jamaican immigrant. She was a single mother and a huge part of Notorious B.I.G.’s life.

Before she took over the legacy of her son after his murder in 1997, Wallace was a preschool teacher.

Voletta Wallace’s poignant acceptance of the MTV Video Music Award for her son’s Hypnotize symbolised her role as the eternal advocate for his work.

Voletta Wallace’s role in keeping her son’s legacy alive
During her life, Voletta Wallace played a huge role in keeping her son’s name remembered.

After his death, Wallace started the Christopher Wallace (the real name of the rapper) Memorial Foundation. The foundation’s goal is to help children get access to educational resources.

In 2003, she discussed the foundation with the New York Times and explained her reasoning behind starting it: “All I want to do is put a book into a child’s hand. Because books do not kill,” she said.

Hosting a benefit for other late musicians
Her philanthropic work extended beyond the foundation to include community efforts, such as the B.I.G. Night Out Benefit 2003.

During the benefit, Wallace honoured the mothers of musicians who died.

Some of them included Tupac Shakur, a friend of Notorious B.I.G. for a while, Aaliyah, Left Eye, and Jam Master Jay.

Voletta Wallace helped Notorious B.I.G. become a rapper
During the late rapper’s childhood, Wallace would play all kinds of music around him, including reggae, jazz, and country music.

In an interview with EW in 2021, she described Notorious B.I.G.’s childhood and how he was surrounded by music.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I liked stories. When he was a little boy and was growing up, I always had the radio on and tuned in to the country music station. I love my Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings. He listened to it all with me.”

Notorious B.I.G.’s life in documentaries
In addition to her work with the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation, Wallace played a significant role in various documentaries chronicling her son’s life, helping ensure his story was told for future generations. Therefore, she produced the Notorious biopic, released in 2009.

Notorious B.I.G. is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, and people nowadays have their own opinions about the best SA rappers.

Therefore, he had a lot of documentaries made about him.

Other documentaries about the rapper included Biggie & Tupac, Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life, and the Netflix documentary Biggie: I Got a Story to Tell, which was narrated by Wallace.

Fans react to Voletta Wallace’s death
Fans of Notorious B.I.G. left comments on a post announcing Wallace’s death, which was shared on her Instagram account.

“Rest in peace Ms [sic] Wallace May you run immediately into the arms of your son,” one comment said.

Another comment said: “Never backed down to anyone. R.I.P Ms. Wallace”

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