The Shield Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Kern Little
Kern-little-3
Affiliation: One-Niners
Profession: Hip-hop artist
Marital status: Single
Significant other(s): Tyesha (girlfriend)
 
Status: Deceased
Played by: Sticky Fingaz
Season(s): 1 - 2 - 3 - 5
Died: "Of Mice and Lem"
Shot by Moses
First episode: "Dawg Days"
Last episode: "Of Mice and Lem"


Kern Little was a rapper that had connections to the drug underworld in Farmington. He was a former leader of the One-Niners gang but stayed away from the drug business during periods of success in his musical career. During this times, he collaborated with the Strike Team on several occasions. After some time away, he tried to return to the drug business, but was assassinated on orders of Antwon Mitchell in a robbery involving the Strike Team, as he posed a threat to Mitchell's leadership of the gang.

Before Season 1[]

Kern and Rondell Robinson grew up together in Farmington, and were friends since childhood. Because of their friendship, when Rondell became Farmington's main drug dealer, he gave a cut of his earnings to Kern. Kern also knew Dante Fell, but they had lost contact a long time ago.

When Kern Little became a rap artist, he established his studio in Farmington. He also started his own record label with T-Bonz as one of his artists. When T-Bonz started selling a lot of records, he decided to split and start his own label, with his girlfriend Tyesha as one of his artists. However, Tyesha later decided to sign with Kern, and T-Bonz felt that they owed him money for her record sales.

Season 1[]

Kern-chez

Kern talking to the crowd at Chez Club.

Kern Little organized a release party for his album Back from the Ashes at Chez Club. His friend, Rondell Robinson, was at the party and requested him to sing a duet with Tyesha, Kern's girlfriend. Tyesha went to the stage but declined saying that it was Kern's night. At this moment, T-Bonz arrived with some thugs and started demanding money owed to him by Kern. As security was taking him out, a shootout ensued where Rondell and some of the thugs of the other side shot at each other, resulting in two deaths. T-Bonz later killed four more of Rondell's thugs on the streets.

T-bonz-kern-negotiate

Kern and T-Bonz sit with Vic to negotiate.

Vic Mackey decided to end the war and he had them both meet at the Barn to settle their feud. When they couldn't, Vic ordered a cease-fire between the two, and told Kern to bring the numbers he wanted the next day, and he would decide. T-Bonz and Kern still threatened themselves during the meeting. When Tyesha's dog, Rocco, was poisoned, she and Kern went to the Barn to ask Vic to do something about it.

To end it all, Vic took T-Bonz to an abandoned container site and brought Kern with him. However, he decided to force them both inside a container, telling them to make peace. When Vic and Lem came back the next morning, they found out Kern had killed T-Bonz.

During a recording session with Paula, one of his singers, she was unable to record because Rondell Robinson had drugged her trying to have sex with her. This angered Kern, who felt that Rondell was becoming too erratic by using so much drugs. Some time later, Rondell approached Kern to ask him for $50,000 for a deal with a customs employee. Kern refused to give him the money, but at this moment, T.O. Osmond and some of his men approached Kern's car and shot it trying to kill Rondell. However, since Kern's car was armored, they were unsuccessful.

1x11 Rooftop- Vic and Rondell

Rooftop confrontation

Kern decided to take Vic Mackey to the rooftop of a building they frequented when they were kids, thinking he would be hiding there. As they were going up, Rondell shot at them thinking it was someone else. Vic got so angry at him that he threatened to throw him off the roof, but Kern convinced him not to do it. Later that day, Vic told Kern that he decided to switch his support to T.O. Osmond disowning Rondell. Kern felt sorry because Rondell was his childhood friend, but he also understood the decision knowing that Rondell had become too unstable. Vic convinced Kern to tell Rondell that it was safe to return to his home, allowing the "street take care of it".

Season 2[]

2x11-vic-kern-shane

Kern tells Vic and Shane of his plans.

When T.O. was murdered, Kern lost the cut he received from his drug deals. With lots of expenses on his side, he started thinking about getting in the drug business again. When Detective Vic Mackey approached him asking him for information on Dante Fell, Kern told him how he could find him but asked him a favor as well. He told him what he wanted to do and offered Vic the same arrangement he had with Rondell and T.O. However, Vic refused and Kern got angry.

When Vic left, Kern called Dante's brother, Frogger, and left a message warning him that the police would be looking for him. When the Strike Team heard the message, they went after Kern again. Kern told them he had no option after they rejected him. Vic then told him that if they were to deal with him, they would have to be careful and not take the risks they took with Rondell. Kern agreed with them and told them all he wanted was a little help. He then agreed to check out where Frogger was.

After making some calls, Kern found out Frogger was hiding at Collin Greens. He then called Vic and told him. Despite his help, Vic and Shane went later that night to Kern's studio and told him they wouldn't be able to help him with any drug deals. Kern got angry and told them how they had gave him their word, but Vic apologized, telling him he had to lie to him to capture Dante. Before leaving, Vic recommended Kern to stay out of the drug business as well, because if he didn't, he'd have to come after him eventually.

Before Season 3[]

Since his musical career wasn't going too well, Kern started getting more involved with Farmington's crime underworld and his former gang, the One-Niners. He started operating a nightclub to serve as cover and hired a bodyguard called Slap. When he realized that the Byz Lats were arming with MP5's, Kern made a deal with the same military officer that sold to the Byz Lats to buy weapons himself.

Season 3[]

One day, Kern was at his nightclub with Slap, interviewing potential dancers. When Detectives Vic Mackey and Shane Vendrell arrived, he dismissed them. When Vic asked him about the gun purchase, he first denied it but then admitted he had done it to not be outnumbered by the Byz Lats. Vic asked him at what time they were set to buy. After Slap was murdered by the Byz Lats, Kern arranged a fake meeting with Vic. As they waited for Lex, the gun dealer, Vic realized the buy was a setup and confronted Kern. Kern told him it wasn't his fault and after a brief gun standoff, each team left.

The next day, Lex called Kern and arranged to meet in half an hour for the buy, not knowing that the Strike Team had tapped his phone and Shane and Lem were listening. When they were in the middle of the purchase, the police stormed in and arrested everyone. As Julien Lowe was taking Kern out, Vic stopped him and told him that Kern was working with them. Vic then assured him that he would also disarm the Byz Lats, but Kern didn't trust him. That night, Kern and some of his men drove by a street where some Byz Lats were meeting and they shot at them.

3x01-kern-shooting

Kern and his men drive by after shooting a group of Byz Lats.

Some days after that, Vic went to talk with Kern to convince him to stop the shootings from the One-Niners. Kern, who was already aware that Vic had lost some money in a bust gone wrong with Garza, told him that the shooting was only a response for the Byz Lats killing Slap. However, he told him he would try to convince his men to hold off the violence, although with no guarantees. Vic then threatened to hold him responsible for any other One-Niner shooting in the area.

That day, Ronnie picked up Kern and took him to a hotel where Vic was holding Diagur Leyva. He then introduced Diagur as the new leader of the Byz Lats and forced them to reach an agreement about the control of the drug business in Farmington. Both of them were reluctant to deal with each other, but Vic convinced them and left them with Lem as he went to the Barn to check something. While he was gone, Kern and Diagur were unable to reach an agreement. When Vic returned, he had a talk with Diagur and eventually they managed to reach some kind of truce. As Vic walked Kern out, he protested of how the Byz Lats still had their guns, but Vic assured him that he would capture Garza and find the stolen guns.

Season 5[]

Kern eventually was killed while Mackey helped Antwon Mitchell's associates break into a police warehouse in exchange for Mitchell's mercy on Lem during his prison stay. Antwon hadn't told Vic that Kern was a threat to his power in the gang, and so Kern was shot dead by the other man Antwon had sent with Vic, much to Vic's shock. A guard was killed as well and Mackey covered up both incidents, though he was very distressed.

Notes[]

  • During his appearance in Season 1, Kern mentions that the title of his new album is Back from the Ashes. In Season 3, one of his CD's is visible, with the title Too Big to be Little. However, it is not mentioned if this is a new CD or an old one.
  • Kern Little is played by real-life rapper Sticky Fingaz.

Appearances[]

Season 1

Pilot · Our Gang · The Spread · Dawg Days · Blowback · Cherrypoppers · Pay in Pain · Cupid & Psycho · Throwaway · Dragonchasers · Carnivores · Two Days of Blood · Circles ·


Season 2

The Quick Fix · Dead Soldiers · Partners · Carte Blanche · Greenlit · Homewrecker · Barnstormers · Scar Tissue · Co-Pilot · Coyotes · Inferno · Breakpoint · Dominoes Falling ·


Season 3

Playing Tight · Blood and Water · Bottom Bitch · Streaks and Tips · Mum · Posse Up · Safe · Cracking Ice · Slipknot · What Power Is... · Strays · Riceburner · Fire in the Hole · All In · On Tilt ·


Season 5

Extraction · Enemy of Good · Jailbait · Tapa Boca · Trophy · Rap Payback · Man Inside · Kavanaugh · Smoked · Of Mice and Lem · Postpartum ·


Advertisement