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12/14/2005 How are you doing today? I'm doing fine, thank you. How do you feel about the way "Duets" came out? I was just telling everyone that I think it came out beautifully. I am very impressed with the album. Everyone that came to work on it came with great spirit. The energy was there, the love was there, and it was put together out of a lot of love for my son. How involved were you in the project? Very much involved. Anything that is associated with my son, I have to be involved. Some of the artists, I asked personally to be on it. I spoke to Rita Marley, Afeni, Jay-Z. It's just a great thing. Were there any characteristics you wanted the artists to have before you asked them to get on the album? Not really any characteristics…they know my son, they love my son, they have to want to be on the album. Everyone wanted to be on it. There was a hunger to be on it. That's what is so great about it. Every artist that wanted to be on this truly wanted to be on this. Their performance was genuine, it was from the heart. It came out of love. What's your favorite track on the album? There are a couple of them on it. My most favorite is the Bob Marley track. I love the Jay-Z track and I love the 2Pac track. This album says, "The Final Chapter," will this be the final Biggie album? It will be the final album as far as work is concerned. There's not going to be another Biggie album except for his "Greatest Hits." There's other unreleased work, but not for an album. There's not going to be a "Duets II." The only thing left now is the "Greatest Hits." A lot of old material sounds dated…why do you think Biggie's music doesn't sound dated in 2005? Because Christopher was unique. He's one of a kind. Because the love was there, the voice was there. Everything that he spits out sounds like he did it yesterday. Are there any specific reasons why Junior Mafia or Kim isn't on the album? Kim didn't have time, she was heading out to prison. Cease was on an outtake. We didn't exclude anyone from it. Biggie is associated with Bad Boy, but this record is coming out on Atlantic. How come? Notorious B.I.G. is still associated with Bad Boy, what happened is Puffy is no longer with Arista or Universal. Puffy is now with Atlantic, and that's why we're here with Atlantic. How is yours and Puff's relationship today? It's not bad. We never had a bad relationship. We have a business relationship. You show me a business relationship where everything is 100% good and I'll show you a phony relationship. Every relationship, even a married couple, is going to have problems. Some of the problems are good problems, problems that we can solve. Puffy is my partner. I have a great deal of respect for him and he has a great deal of respect for me. That does not mean that I can not speak my mind. If I speak my mind and someone doesn't like it, that's too bad. That's honest speaking. A lot of artists like to add Biggie to their freestyles or songs without any authorization. How do you feel about those collaborations? That kind of pisses me off! That's what I call exploitation. I love the fact that they want to use my son's words and that they want to be a part of my son. But ask me! Ask for it. I'm definitely not going to say no. If I feel that it's going to be garbage, of course I'm going to say no. But if you need to do something and I heard it and I have a great deal of respect for it, I'll say you can use it. But when you go behind my back with it, that's very disrespectful. What about all of the t-shirts with your son's images on it, are you trying to shut down the sale of those? Yes. We are in the process of doing all of that now. This has been going on for over five years, people using my son's images. They'll take my son's images out of magazines and next thing you know, there will be t-shirts out. We are policing every individual that's using the images without our permission. Every unauthorized piece, we're going to get them. Do you feel like a lot of people are out there misrepresenting what Big stood for? There's a lot of people abusing his music and abusing his images. They're still doing it. How important is it that you stay on-point with your business? I have to be. That's the only way we're going to get along in this world. Yes, I wrote a book, and that's a part of my business, that's Ms. Wallace's business. As far as this album here is concerned, I'm working for my grandchildren and I'm working for me. This is my son's legacy that I have to solidify, have to keep in tact, and have to keep going. I have to be on-point with it. You've said in past interviews that some of the things Biggie has said in songs weren't true, like how "Christmas missed us," in "Juicy"… Hell yes! That's the truth. I usually celebrate Christmas. It was about 15 years ago when I became a Jehovah's Witness that we didn't celebrate Christmas. I believe what Christopher was mentioning in his lyrics was that the reason Christmas missed us was because we were so damn poor because we didn't have money to buy presents. Have you ever seen Christopher's apartment? That was no one-room shack to me. Looking at the effect he still has on people today, do you feel like the overall outcome is good even though he said some things that may not have been true? He wasn't bending the truth. He was an artist. He was a lyricist. He was a poet. He was writing rhymes. It doesn't matter. He wrote things about me too. It doesn't matter. That's what an artist does. That's what a poet does. He used his imagination, and that's what makes him so great. Do you keep up with what's going on in Hip Hop today? Not necessarily. I'll listen to what's out. If it's good, I'll buy it. I'm not a person that goes around looking for Hip Hop and putting it in my family room or car. There are wonderful artists out there with tremendous talent. I do listen to their work if it's good. How do you feel when you see artists fighting amongst each other today? There are very few. For those who really take it to the highest level and use it as a negative platform, my advice to them is that they need to educate themselves and get on with their lives. Life is too precious for individuals to be out there fighting on wax. Spread love. Do you have plans for more books? Yes. I have plans for some children's books. Who knows, maybe another Notorious book. Right now, I just want to promote this book, take some time off and relax, and move on from there. Was writing the memoir on Biggie hard for you? No, it wasn't. It was great therapy for me. It was wonderful therapy because the book Biggie is about mostly me. The reason it came about is because nobody knew me. They associate me with the Notorious B.I.G. I am a daughter too, and I am a human being. They need to see Ms. Wallace, the woman, not just "Biggie's mom." I am an individual and I have an identity. Do you feel like the Hip Hop community only sees you as Biggie's mom? I'm sure they do. They do the "Biggie's mom" thing out of love and respect, but at the end of the day, I am who I am, and I am Voletta Wallace. Do you do a lot of public speaking? No, I honestly don't. I've never thought of it. I'm a private citizen. I live my life accordingly. If I'm asked to do something and I think the subject warrants attention, I will do it, but at the same time I have done a few, but I haven't done a lot. What's next for you? Next is the movie. Movie will start production hopefully in March or April. This is not a documentary. It's a movie about his life. And we're finishing up the trial. Any ideas who will play Christopher? There's a lot of proposals coming in. I haven't decided yet. There's a lot, and trust me, at the end of the day we will find the one that we want to represent him. How is Brooklyn Mint doing? Brooklyn Mint so far is doing very well. We have t-shirts in stores now and the full line will hopefully be in stores Fall 2006. Brooklyn Mint will be here forever. How do you want kids today to remember who Big was? I just want kids to remember him as a great human being, an honest human being, a wonderful father, a great entertainer, and a wonderful lyricist. He was somebody who enjoyed his work, enjoyed people, and enjoyed life. What advice do you have to offer kids today who want a career in Hip Hop? Whatever avenues you want to take in life, you need to think hard and make sure that whatever the profession is, you have a love for it and give it your all. That will make you one of the happiest humans on the face of the earth. What advice do you have for mothers out there that have children that want a career in Hip Hop? I would tell the mothers to listen to their sons and daughters. Don't turn your nose up to it, especially if you don't know about it. You have to meet your children half-way. They're not trying to hurt anybody. They're trying to make a life for themselves. What they write may be offensive, but offensive to who? These young men are working, they're not hurting anyone. If anyone is hurt, it's because they want to be hurt. Listen to what your children have to say. Do you feel like the older generation is against Hip Hop? Not all parents, but some people put it down because they take these things too literally. If someone gets hurt or killed, they blame it on Hip Hop. That's not fair to the artists. What they need to do is spend some time and listen to the artists. They're not running out there with guns shooting everyone. They're using their talents to make people happy. The ones who don't like it are the minority. Let's think of how many people they're making happy. What would you like to say to everyone out there reading this? The album will be out in stores December 20, and I want to thank everyone who's supported my son over the years and is still supporting him. I want to give them my love and give them my thanks on behalf of my family.

By Brian Kayser

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