Voletta Wallace, the dedicated mother of the late great rapper The Notorious B.I.G., died Friday morning at 78.

Voletta Wallace, the mother of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. who worked to elevate his short-lived but influential career to hip-hop greatness, has died. She was 78. "We suffered a tremendous loss today.

She played the rapper music as a child, stood by him during his career and navigated the legal and artistic questions that arose after his killing.