A portion of Notorious B.I.G.’s estate will now be handled by Primary Wave.
As AFROTECH™ previously told you, a deal rumored to be in the “eight figures” was in the works between Notorious B.I.G.’s estate and the music publisher and involved half his publishing and master rights, including his rights to name, image, voice, and “other identifiable characteristics.”
Notorious B.I.G.’s estate had been primarily run by his mother, Voletta Wallace, who was instrumental in securing stake from Bad Boy Records. Christopher Wallace, otherwise known as Biggie Smalls or Notorious B.I.G., had been one of the first artists to sign to the label owned by Sean “Diddy” Combs. Bad Boy Records had 50% stake in his songwriting catalog, Variety mentions. Voletta was able to increase the estate’s stake to 85% after arguing it was doing the heavy lifting in securing deals to license and monetize Notorious B.I.G.’s music. She then secured the remaining 15% stake in 2020.
“Securing control of my son’s publishing and masters was a hard-fought journey, one that was not easy to accomplish,” Voletta said, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In February 2025, Voletta passed away at 78 years old. Prior to her death, she had agreed to a deal with Primary Wave that grants it a 50% stake in the estate of her son who died in 1997 after being shot. Sources familiar with the deal say the estate is valued at over $200 million.
Primary Wave states it intends on preserving the legacy of Notorious B.I.G., who is widely remembered for singles that remain relevant today, such as “Hypnotize,” “Juicy,” and “Big Poppa.”
“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, per Variety.
According to Primary Wave Founder and CEO Larry Mestel, the goal will be to do “less but larger.”
