Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son

"BIGGIE" is a biography of the late, popular hip-hop musician Notorious B.I.G., aka Biggie Smalls, but known to his family as Christopher Wallace. His mother, Ms. Voletta Wallace, is the author. She combines an autobiographical narrative of her own life in Jamaica, then transplanted to New York City, where she met Christopher's father. The book is a large-print hardcover, with occasional pictures throughout; After Ms. Wallace accounts her own life and Christopher's childhood, she describes her life during his rise to fame as a rap artist. From there, she goes into her perspective on the night he was murdered, and what has happened in the years since his death. The narrative is very good, she doesn't short-shrift on Biggie's shortcomings: She speaks frankly about her disapproval of his choice to be a street-level drug peddler, as well about 'girl crazy' Christopher's philandering, and her initial anger concerning his whirlwind romance & marriage to Faith Evans. The same frankness also goes for some of the others in Christopher's life, e.g. Puffy ("The truth is, Christopher accepted the illusion of a friend and mentor for about $25,000. That's the amount Puffy lured my son with... It was enough money to make my son believe that Puffy was ready to do anything for him...That same admiration and loyalty have [Shyne] in jail with a ten-year sentence"), Cease ("It was me, Voletta Wallace, who [bailed Cease out and] waited for almost a year to get my money back... I guess in a business of lies and deception it just sounded better for him to say it was Jay-Z who bailed him out... Perhaps the whole lie put him in good standing...") She sheds light on her initial reaction to Biggie & Faith's marriage & breakup, and stresses there was no feuding with her after his death, but Kim's behavior became increasingly troublesome ("her album was about to drop that week... whenever the television was on, there she was. it seemed to me, that she was never talking about herself. every other breath awas about my son... she had something new and more salacious to say about my son".) She also goes into interesting accounts on the Tupac/Biggie feud, and her friendship with Afeni Shakur, as the two are bound by their son's early deaths and legacies.

Voletta Wallace, the mother of the late Christopher "Notorious B.I.G.; Biggie, BIG" has written a heartfelt and deeply moving account of her life and that of her son. Faith Evans writes in her introduction that readers will feel compelled to finish this book once they start it and she is right. The love this mother had for her only child will touch the hearts of all who read her account. I finished this book in one straight sitting and came away with a different view of Christopher Wallace. Voletta, a native Jamaican from Trelawny describes her hardscrabble life against the contradictory tropical beauty of the Island. The youngest of 3 children, Voletta learns to fend for herself against her older sister Ruby, with whom she has a volatile relationship. She is, however close to her brother Volan. Voletta describes the educational system in the West Indies and the punitive approach that is so readily applied. Students are whipped and beaten by teachers for small infractions including not knowing the answer to a lesson; parental whippings are equally common. Voletta knew that despite the punitive system that education was her ticket to a better life. At age 16, determined to attend the local high school without paying tuition as is common in the Islands, she moves with a relative. That arrangement is short lived once the relative's husband makes lewd advances toward her. Luck intervenes; in 1969 at age 16 Voletta is able to leave the Islands for New York and continue her education there. She earns her G.E.D.; secures employment and moves into a small flat. In 1971 her friend introduced her to Selwyn, the man who would father her only child. In time she discovers Selwyn was married and had been lying to and using her. When Christopher was born on May 21, 1972, Selwyn had little impact in his son's life. He did buy food and baby supplies for the boy until he was two; after that, his contact with that family ceased. Voletta was determined to see that her son had a better life and more chances than she had growing up. She wisely wants her son to know his father despite her bad experiences with the man. She wanted Christopher to make his own mind up about him and to reserve judgment until he has the chance to do so. Determined to pursue her education and career, Voletta secures teaching jobs after discovering that nursing was not for her. She insists Christopher apply himself to his studies as he was bright and learned quickly. Sadly, Christopher answered the siren song from the street and all but abandoned his studies once he entered the teen years. Desperate, Voletta did everything she could to get him to continue his education. In the early 1990s, Voletta heard Christopher "rapping" on the radio. By chance, she could not get her regular station tuned in and accidentally heard her son on another. It was then she and Christopher talked about his career in the rap world and his rising popularity among his peers. Christoph

Voletta Wallace chronicles a slice of her life and that of her son, the Notorious B.I.G., in BIGGIE: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son. Born and raised in Jamaica, Voletta Wallace always had dreams of moving to America where it seemed everyone was rich, fashionable, and happy. She was a hard-working young woman who made her dreams a reality through perseverance and holding steadfast to her values of education and self-improvement. When she was unexpectedly blessed with a son, her life changed markedly. Instead of striving to improve herself for her own gain, Christopher became the central motivation to better her circumstances. Although life seemed charmed once Biggie made it to superstardom, her grandchildren were born, and she had successfully fought breast cancer, devastation reigned in Voletta's life when Biggie was murdered while visiting Los Angeles. After being faced with this tragedy and the aftermath that it brought with it, Voletta was faced with even more challenges. Yet, she never let mishaps and unfortunate turns of events shatter her. She remains a strong figure in her family and in the entertainment industry. While this was an interesting glimpse into how Biggie came up and the role his mother played in his life, I would like to have seen more insight and details. However, this isn't really a biography of Christopher Wallace, or even his alter ego, The Notorious B.I.G. Instead, it is more of a memorial piece that briefly touches on the life of a man who became a central figure in the rap game and touched the lives of his fans, his family and friends, and the world of hip-hop. Reviewed by CandaceK (...)

In the introduction of "Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace , AKA Notorious B.I.G. Biggie" Faith Evans says "There is a continuity of that that compels the reader to begin and finish the book in one setting," and she is write. "Biggie" is a remarkable that you will want to read all at once. Voletta Wallace is the mother of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. There were some things about the book I found a bit puzzling, mostly regarding the time line. Voletta speaks about being high school aged and staying with a relative in Jamaica (where she is from) and her aunts husband attempts to sexually assault her. Soon after she moves to New York and begins a five year plan to build her life in the United States. When she becomes pregnant with Big she paints this picture of a naive young woman with nothing for the most part who falls victim to a lying man. Since the book reads as if she had just arrived in the states several years later one assumes she is in her early to mid twenties when she gets pregnant with B.I.G. She was actually a bit older. In a 2003 interview that ran in Honey Magazine Voletta told Wendy Williams that she was 67 years old, which would have made her around 36 years old when Big was born. She does not tell her family about the pregnancy and as if she was a child who had disappointed her parents she tells them via a letter. There just seemed to be a gap in the book. Especially since she was a teacher for 30 years prior to Big's death at the age of 23. Another gap has to do with Voletta's friend Laurice. She introduced Voletta to Biggie's father and was with Voletta when Big was born but we later are informed that Laurice had passed when Voletta discovers that she had Cancer, even though there was no mention of Laurice's passing earlier or Voletta dealing with a friend with a terminal illness. The first half of the book addresses Voletta's early days in the U.S. and Christopher's pre-Biggie life. The middle part of the book addresses Biggie's early days pursuing music and all of the ladies in his life. There is very little about his early recordings and actual details about the music aspect of his life. It's a mother sharing her memories about how the events of her only son's life unfolded. Some things are laid out in lighting speed. In a span of two pages she covers the majority of Big's relationship with Faith, from meeting her, until things ended. The last half of the book is all about Voletta's life after the death of her son and the events surrounding the murder of The Notorious B.I.G. Voletta loved her son deeply and it's heartbreaking to read "Biggie" at times because you can feel the love in her written words and to read about his earliest days knowing that his life would end in tragedy is that much more devastating. It is a great book with a ton of pictures of Big as a child. It's heartbreaking but Mrs. Wallace has created a wonderful testimony to her child.

This book is well-written, heart-felt and poignant. Voletta Wallace shows true grit, honesty and courage in overcoming more than most of us could imagine. This is bigger than the story of the Notorious B.I.G. Ms. Wallace's story is inspiring!