Notorious B.I.G. Widow Faith Evans Sued for Catalog Takeover

The Notorious B.I.G.'s widow, R&B singer Faith Evans, is trying to seize control of his musical legacy following his mother’s death earlier this year, according to a lawsuit unsealed Wednesday.

Wayne Barrow, a record executive associated with the iconic star, is suing Evans on behalf of the late Voletta Wallace’s estate, which he oversees. The partly redacted court complaint says Evans is offering “specious” excuses for running Notorious B.I.G. LLC unilaterally—ignoring a 50-50 ownership split—while steering the proceeds to the dead rapper’s children “and presumably to herself.”

Evans didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to multiple emails seeking comment. Emails to a law firm that allegedly represents the LLC were marked undeliverable, and no other contact information for the firm was immediately available.

Christopher Wallace, also known as Biggie Smalls, rocketed to fame in the mid-1990s with hits like “Juicy” and “Big Poppa” before his death in a 1997 drive-by shooting that remains unsolved. The murder—and the killing months earlier of rival Tupac Shakur—marked a major turning point in hip-hop culture that has generated decades of unproven speculation about ties between gangland figures and music industry heavyweights including Suge Knight and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Evans and Combs, then going by Puff Daddy, collaborated on the Grammy-winning tribute song “I’ll Be Missing You,” which became one of the best-selling singles of all time.

Barrow’s allegations follow about three months after Primary Wave Music acquired a 50% stake in Biggie’s musical catalog and likeness rights. The deal—reported by the Wall Street Journal to be worth $100 million—appears to have prompted Barrow’s claim that he’s being wrongly cut out of a managerial role he effectively held before the February death of Voletta Wallace, who allegedly negotiated the sale.

Although she and Evans were technically co-managers, Barrow oversaw most day-to-day operations, according to the court filing, which says Evans “has conceded that she is not familiar with the affairs of the LLC.”

Delaware’s Chancery Court, which specializes in high-stakes corporate cases, is no stranger to legal disputes involving musical legends. The suit against Evans is assigned to its chief judge, Chancellor Kathaleen St. J. McCormick, who’s already overseeing a similar court fight between two of Prince’s half-siblings and two of his friends.

The elite business tribunal has also been called upon in recent years to resolve a feud among members of the rock band Journey, who are at odds over touring expenses, and to preside over contentious liquor partnerships involving Jay-Z and Diddy, respectively.

The new lawsuit, originally filed under seal July 2, seeks an order declaring that Voletta Wallace’s estate trust is a 50% member of the LLC, opening its books to Barrow, giving the trust its proportionate share of any cash distributions, and compelling Evans to comply with the LLC agreement’s deadlock resolution provision.

Barrow is represented by Wilks Law LLC and Elman Freiberg PLLC. Evans hasn’t yet made a court appearance.

The case is Barrow v. Evans, Del. Ch., No. 2025-0760, complaint unsealed 7/9/25.