Barrow previously replaced the rapper’s son as trustee of his late mom Voletta Wallace’s trust
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NEED TO KNOW
- Wayne Barrow granted summary judgment on two claims in a court case against Faith Evans over control of The Notorious B.I.G.’s intellectual property
- Barrow was named sole trustee by the rapper’s mother Voletta Wallace before her death, replacing Evans’ son C.J.
- Evans allegedly blocked Barrow’s rights to the trust, but the court ruled in his favor to manage the legacy
The Notorious B.I.G.‘s former manager Wayne Barrow has secured a win in court over the rapper’s widow Faith Evans, who he claims has tried to block him from his rightful share of the late star’s trust.
A Delaware judge sided with Barrow in a judgment published on Aug. 7 that centers on management of the rapper’s intellectual property and trustee appointments made by his mother Voletta Wallace before her death in 2025.
“In the song ‘Ten Crack Commandments’ from The Notorious B.I.G.’s posthumously released Life After Death album, Christopher Wallace presciently cautioned: “Keep your family and business completely separated,’” the judgment, which was obtained by PEOPLE, begins. “After Wallace’s tragic death, however, his mother and widow did exactly the opposite—forming Notorious B.I.G., LLC (the “Company”) under Delaware law to manage the late rapper’s intellectual property. This litigation was perhaps the inevitable result.”
An attorney for Evans did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Evans, 53, and Voletta formed the Notorious B.I.G. LLC company — which holds the rights to the late rapper’s intellectual property — in 2007. The documents say that when Voletta died, she left her interest in the company to a trust, and Evans became the sole manager of the company.
Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Mathew Tsang/WireImage
In March 2025, the company entered into a 50-50 partnership with Primary Wave, according to Rolling Stone.
Though Evans and Wallace’s son C.J., 29, was initially named Voletta’s successor trustee, she amended things weeks before she died, instead naming Barrow as the sole trustee.
When Barrow tried to assert the trust’s rights to membership units in the company, he was, he claims, blocked by Evans, whom the judgment described as “presumably angered” that her son was removed by his grandmother.
The court granted Barrow’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed Evans’ counterclaim, arguing that he is in fact a permitted transferee and Evans has no reason not to make the distributions to which he is entitled.
“Wayne is feeling vindicated. We obtained a total victory in a dispute that never should have happened,” his lawyer told Rolling Stone. “Wayne goes back with the family for decades, and Mama Wallace wanted Wayne to steward the legacy of the Notorious B.I.G. after she was gone, and he now will be able to do that. He knows it’s a very important task, and he’s looking forward to fulfilling Mama Wallace’s wishes in that regard.”
He first filed against Evans in July 2025. Meanwhile, a separate lawsuit filed by C.J. in Pennsylvania that remains ongoing alleges that Voletta was “improperly influenced” by Barrow into naming him the sole trustee and executor of his estate, according to RS.
Wallace and Evans were married in 1994 and remained married until his death in March 1997 at age 24, though they were estranged when he died. He was also a dad to daughter Ty’anna, 33, with his high school sweetheart Jan Jackson. Ty’anna is entitled to 25% of the company’s distributions, along with her brother, grandmother and stepmother.
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