DJ Kovert, the disc jockey born Matthew Nelson, died at 19 after complications from a motor vehicle crash in St Andrew. He died at the University of the Hospital of the West Indies on Saturday, a loss that hit a young music circuit already talking about how quickly he had moved from competition sets to paid work.
SunCity High School DJ Competition
2024 was the year Nelson broke through. He won the SunCity High School DJ Competition and began playing music professionally the same year, then added a first-year management studies seat at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
Over the summer, he co-promoted a bi-weekly series called FWD. That mix of competition credit, campus life and live promotion gave peers a reason to treat him as more than a promising name on a flyer.
DJ Zacky and DJ TZ
DJ Zacky wrote on Instagram that, "One DM turned us from strangers to brothers. From practice sessions to site visits, to bookings and even just going out for drinks, you became more than a friend to me. Every Friday, you would call me and say “Wah time yah play tonight”, and once I told you, it was always “Live, me a fwd.” Every room you waked into, you lit it up, and that’s something I’ll never forget," He added, "One thing I’ll always remember about you is how you always found the positive in every situation, even when we were late for bookings. No matter what was happening, you always found a way to make the best of it. That’s the kind of person you were, and I’ll truly miss that about you."
DJ TZ said on Instagram, "I saw you the night of and we did a laugh and a run bare jokes a Ribbiz, to then get a call in the morning seh yuh crash bro. Mnk (Mi nuh know) how fi function rn bro. You was one of the realest, happiest, talented and down to earth niggas I’ve ever met" He also wrote, "You was my brother and I got so much love for you gang. I promise to keep your name and legacy alive and to take you with me everywhere I go. I promise to never let you be forgotten and to keep going and to push through bcs ik that is what you would want. Love you family and rest easy."
Washington Boulevard in St Andrew
DJ Russ Buss said he first saw Kovert in the preliminary rounds of the SunCity High School DJ competition and heard enough in those sets to believe he would win. "My fondest memory by far of Kovert, was the first time seeing him playing in the SunCity High School DJ competition during the preliminary rounds, and I listened to his transitions and how he played; I knew he would have won" he said, adding, "I was impressed the first time that I saw him play. He reminded me so much of myself when I started playing music, how much he loved it, his humility and he had a lot of manners. He loved the craft and had such a bright future ahead of him."
The crash happened on Thursday, October 22, 2026, on Washington Boulevard in St Andrew, and the circumstances around it were still unclear. DJ JJ Deadlock said, "Dawg Kovert sooo humble and jovial. We had this event together and my laptop wasn’t connecting and he easily gave me his laptop to DJ half of my set."
That is the part that lingers: a 19-year-old disc jockey who had already won a competition, built a working calendar and earned steady praise from peers is gone before the scene could see what he would become next. The unanswered question now is what exactly caused the motor vehicle crash on Washington Boulevard in St Andrew.
