The Notorious B.I.G.’s mother Voletta Wallace has passed away.
Biggie Smalls’ mother died Friday morning in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, according to Monroe County Coroner Thomas Yanac, reports TMZ. She was 72 and the cause of death seems to be natural causes.
Following Biggie’s death in 1997, she helped maintain his estate successfully and celebrated his life. In 2005, she wrote a memoir entitled “Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G.”
In 2009, she also served as a producer for the biopic “Notorious” where Angela Bassett played her role. She explained during an interview at the time that she visited the set every day, and that the final product surprised her.
“[it] made me angry, made me sad. I learned a lot… about my son — a lot that I never knew. But I still love him because he was from here [gestures to heart].”