The Notorious B.I.G.'s legacy was celebrated on Friday (May 20) at the Empire State Building. B.I.G.'s friends Lil Cease and Lil Kim were on-hand to recognize the late Hip-Hop icon on what would have been his 50th birthday. The Empire State Building is honoring Biggie with a special King Of New York distinction on the building's lighting mast, in recognition of B.I.G.'s famous moniker. Biggie's mother, Voletta Wallace, spoke about her son on the occasion.

“First, I need to thank all the staff and everyone at the Empire State building who put all this together," she said. "I am a proud mother tonight. I don’t do proud. I am one of the most humble human beings you will find on the face of the earth. But tonight, I can say I am proud. I am proud to be a mother of one of the nicest human beings you will ever know, that is my son Christopher Wallace.”

"All of the friendly faces. All of the genuine love that’s been permeating throughout this room, throughout New York City, Brooklyn, and the world,” Ms. Wallace said. “I love my son. I will always say I’m a mother forever. Forever. I wanna thank you all for coming up to be here to share the love. Not only to spread love the Brooklyn way but to spread love worldwide.”

After emerging on Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy record label in the mid-1990s, The Notorious B.I.G. became one of the genre's biggest stars, with hits like "Big Poppa" and "Hypnotize." He was tragically murdered at age 24 in 1997, just before the release of his sophomore album, Life After Death.

“Please remember that that human being was your friend and will always be your friend at heart. I thank you so much for showing up. God bless you. Stay safe and walk with dignity.”

On Thursday (May 19), Mayor Eric Adams presented Biggie's son, C.J. Wallace, with a proclamation from the city, honoring how Christopher Wallace changed Hip-Hop.