The music publishing, recordings, and likeness rights of The Notorious B.I.G, aka Biggie Smalls, has partly been acquired by production outlet, Primary Wave Music.
Sources say his mother, Voletta Wallace, who had overseen the musician’s estate, reached a deal with the company before passing away recently. She is said to have been involved in all the negotiations concerning the deal.
READ ALSO: Voletta Wallace: Notorious B.I.G.’s Mother Passes On At Age 72
Ms Wallace established the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation and was a producer on the 2009 biopic Notorious, directed by George Tillman Jr. She passed on in February 2025.
Reports indicate that Primary Wave would take 50 percent interest in the estate, which was valued at $200million.
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“The estate and Primary Wave will collaborate on all business moving forward in an effort to continue the incredible and innovative work done thus far with one goal in mind, to keep the legacy of the Notorious B.I.G. alive,” the company said in a statement.
The company and estate described their business relationship as a “panoramic partnership that [would] encompass The Notorious B.I.G.’s music publishing and recordings, as well as his name, image and likeness.”
READ ALSO: Primary Wave Finalises The Deal For Biggie Smalls’ Catalog
Reports indicate Ms Wallace, a retired schoolteacher and Jamaican native, died of natural causes. She was said to have moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she and her husband, George Latore, welcomed their son, Christopher.
Christopher later became known as rapper Biggie Smalls before taking on the stage name “The Notorious B.I.G.”
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Voletta raised her son as a single mother while working in education. After the loss of her son, she preserved the legacy of The Notorious B.I.G. and took care of her two other children.
In 2005, she released the book Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G.
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Actor, Will Smith, recently revealed the last conversation he had with Biggie Smalls and another artiste, called Prince, hours before they died.
In an interview on the Broken Record podcast, he explained the connection he had with the two musicians.
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“I don’t even want to say this out loud cause it’s like a terrible jinx…I met Biggie four hours before he got killed, and I talked to Prince eight hours before he died,” Smith said, emphasizing the effect of Biggie’s death.
