By Olaitan Ibrahim
Voletta Wallace, mother of late American rapper, The Notorious B.I.G., has passed away, aged 78.
She died of natural causes Friday morning in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, according to the Monroe County Coroner.
Voletta Wallace was best known for managing the estate of her son, Biggie Smalls, who was one of the reigning hip-hop stars of his era until he was murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1997 aged 24.
By the time of Wallace’s demise, her son’s estate was thought to be worth $160 million, up from the $10 million it was estimated at when Biggie was killed, via TMZ.
Her death came months after her shocking comments about Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is currently in jail awaiting trial on multiple charges, including rape.
In 1993, Biggie, whose real name was Christopher Wallace, became the first artiste to sign with Diddy’s label, Bad Boy Records.