Earlier it was reported that former “Rob & Big star, Christopher “Big Black” Boykins had passed away at the age of 45. While TMZ first reported on Boykins’ death, details surrounding his passing were still unclear.
Well, PEOPLE has confirmed that the cause of the death was a heart attack and Boykins had passed earlier this morning.
MTV has also released a statement on Christopher’s death.
“MTV is deeply saddened to learn the news of Christopher ‘Big Black’ Boykin’s passing,” MTV said in a statement, obtained by PEOPLE. “He was a longtime and beloved member of the MTV family and will be greatly missed. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends at this time.”
“Rob & Big” lasted for about 19 episodes before the show canceled due to a silent feud the pair were having.
“It was a strange period,” Rob Dyrdek said in a March 2016 interview. “I had been a pro skateboarder for years, so me transitioning to mainstream fame was relatively smooth, right, where for him, the idea that man he was like working security two years earlier and now he’s on television, it was a much different dynamic. But I think we both struggled with I didn’t want to be known as like Rob from Rob & Big … and I think he didn’t want to be known for like the sidekick. So that created a lot of that tension between me and him.”
Dyrdek said that even though they got paid the same their ego ultimately drove them apart.
“I think it was more the fundamental struggle of wanting to not be so connected to each other,” Dyrdek added. “Ultimately, after we had a big blowout creatively over an idea … things were so tense at certain times — it’s funny now that I think about it — but we literally would film some of the funniest things that we have ever done and would be losing it and then walk away and not talk to each other. It was super, super bizarre.”
Source: http://people.com/tv/rob-big-star-christopher-big-black-boykin-dead/