Voletta Wallace, the mother of late rapper The Notorious B.I.G, has died at 78. She died at her home in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania of natural causes after spending time in hospice care, the local coroner told the Associated Press .

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

The Notorious B.I.G., one of the rap’s greatest performers, was shot to death at age 24 in Los Angeles in 1997. The case remains unsolved. He was survived by his wife, the musician and actress Faith Evans, and his two children, Christopher Jordan Wallace and T’yanna Dream Wallace.

Voletta Wallace, who maintained her son Notorious B.I.G.’s memory after his 1997 killing, is dead. She was 78. Wallace’s family confirmed her death in a statement through the rapper’s estate, calling it “a tremendous loss.