Wiggins native Christopher ‘Big Black’ Boykin of ‘Rob and Big’ dies at 45

An MTV icon with South Mississippi ties has died.

Christopher “Big Black” Boykin, star of MTV’s “Rob and Big” died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 45.

Although his Wikipedia page claims Boykin was born in Raleigh, Mississippi, he considered Wiggins his hometown.

In a recent post on his Instagram account commemorating his place on the Ventura Walk of Fame, Boykin said, “Not bad for a fat black kid from Wiggins Ms....#godisgood #allthetime.”

Variety reports a cause of death has not been made public.

Boykin rose to fame as the “Big” in his friend Rob Drydek’s show “Rob & Big,” which debuted on MTV in 2006 and ran for three seasons, as well as some episodes of Drydek’s follow-up, “Fantasy Factory.” Drydek sent out a series of Tweets on Tuesday that paid tribute to his friend.

Boykin is survived by a 9-year-old daughter, Isis.

This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 9:02 AM with the headline "Wiggins native Christopher ‘Big Black’ Boykin of ‘Rob and Big’ dies at 45."