Volleta Wallace claims Diddy and Lil’ Kim misused his name
In life, the late Notorious B.I.G. partied and made millions alongside his producer/boss Sean “Diddy” Combs and his sometimes girlfriend, rapper Kimberly “Lil’ Kim” Jones. But in an upcoming memoir, the hip-hop icon’s mother Voletta Wallace, claims that Combs and Jones exploited her son, according to an excerpt of the book in the New York Daily News.
“I’m glad my son does not have to witness that the very people that he thought he could ride and die with wouldn’t think twice about using his mother,” Wallace writes in “Biggie: Voletta Wallace Remembers Her Son, Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G,” due Oct. 25. “I am glad that he’s not here to see how they have used his image and his name.”
B.I.G. – whose hits included “One More Chance” and “Big Poppa" -was fatally shot in 1997 in L.A. He was sitting in his parked GMC Suburban outside a party for the 11th annual Soul Train Music Awards. He was 24.
Since his death, B.I.G-whose murder has gone unsolved-has been the subject of a laundry list of tributes. Combs and Jones have repeatedly invoked B.IG.’s name in their songs and Jones has even named some after him.
Last month, Combs performed a tribute at MTV’s Video Music Awards for B.I.G. with the backing of an orchestra and the help of rapper Snoop Dogg.
“I believe Sean loved my son-after he was dead,” Wallace, who penned her book with writer Tremell McKenzie, says. “I used to tell Christopher all the time not to trust Sean.”
Wallace says the often scantily clad rapper stole from her New Jersey home when she allowed Jones to use it for a magazine interview.
When Wallace first saw the magazine article, she said: “The first picture I saw was Kim wearing my son’s mink coat, holding his chain and wearing his hat. I was in shock. I felt violated.”
“I read the entire article and learned that not only was Kim wearing things belonging to my son,” Wallace continued, “but she claimed that the home belonged to her as well. This experience helped me draw my own opinions about Kim. And they weren’t good.”
Publicists for Combs and Jones declined to comment for this article.