I looked him up briefly and a lot of his online presence seems to date back a year.
I guess that he could technically have completely fabricated his persona too. A skizo paranoid giant nigger with the weirdest fetishes is peak comedy for this show.
I am afraid it would be quite a lot to commit to for a year though. However, I have no doubt that everyone in the production was aware of who they were hiring.
Anyway, they are all the same in this respect where they see the show as a way to create their brand or be seen. Nobody who does not want this participates in these shows.