Scooby with the Sauce

Anthony Chukwuma Onwubuariri, better known as “Scooby Nero” is an award-winning, South African-based, Nigerian Afrofusion star. Starting his music career in 2012, he has grown to become the hottest Nigerian artist in South Africa, with a rapidly growing following exceeding more than 180K across all social media platforms. He is a fierce and passionate entertainer whose music has set high standards for Afrofusion artists.

Scooby Nero began his career in entertainment as a dance student at Imagneto Dance Academy. A quick learner by nature, he grew to become an exceptional dancer and acquired the name “Scooby Nero”.

You joined the Imagneto Dance Academy as a dance student and you became an exceptional dancer. You even got the chance to perform alongside LL Cool J & Akon. What made you decide to start doing music instead?

“I suddenly knew I had a thing for music when my crew and I started doing A&R for various artists we danced for. They gave us their unreleased tracks to listen to and choose the few we thought or felt the public would vibe with. It got to a point where I started to advise and correct professionals on their songs. I slowly discovered that I had a talent in writing. So, from 2012 to 2014, I wrote and perfected my writing skills before I dropped my first single in 2015 titled – Washkalakunda“.

How did the name “Scooby Nero” come about?

“Tony Tonero was my nickname as a professional dancer before I started music in 2012. So, as a dancer; there are many ways we count our steps. Some people use “1! 2! 3! 4!”  Others prefer “TA! TA! TA! TA!”. I preferred using “Scooby! Scooby! Scooby! Scooby! ,Because of this, many people don’t know me as Tony, they know me as Scooby! Some added ‘Nero’ from Tonero which made it Scooby Nero”.

Do you still dance or are you solely dedicated to music?

“I do still dance, but not professionally. Music is my everything,” he says.

Who are some of the artists that inspire your music?

“I’m inspired by the likes of Burna Boy, Davido, Olamide & Cassper Nyovest”.

Your career in music started in 2012 and you’ve had the privilege of working with  great African artists (Kwesta, Nadia Nakai, Manu WorldStar etc.) Tell us a bit about that?

“I need to clear something up firstly. In 2012, I was mainly doing music for fun and focused more on acting in movies and plays (professionally). However, I still had the privilege of meeting a number of great African artists. They always complimented me and told me that I had great potential of being a music star & I should consider taking it seriously. Some of these artists jumped on a few tracks with me, of which some I haven’t released. YES! I said some, “he firmly states.

You recently released your EP, Scooby Sauce Vol. 2. How has is the reception and what message are you hoping to send out to your fans through this project?

“One thing I would really like my new fans to know is that anything that has a ‘Part 2’ definitely has a ‘Part 1’.

There was and still is a “Scooby Sauce EP – Part 1”. I dropped it in 2017 and it has a lot of African stars featured on it.

Now, back to the actual question; “Scooby Sauce EP – Vol. 2” is doing super great so far. The reason I named it “Scooby Sauce” is to show the world my versatility amongst all kinds of genres of music; “Sauce” as per varieties. It’s got most popular genres of music in this project,” he explains.

Do you believe in following trends to stay relevant as a musician or do you prefer to stay true and make music that means something to you?

“I really do prefer to make music that means something to me, but every once in a while I be tapping on that trendy s**t just to remind the world of my Versatility”.

You released the “Only Fan Account” single on February 24, 2020. It was also the most streamed single from that EP. How does it feel to get such amazing feedback from listeners?

“I am still absolutely amazed because I had already selected 5 songs from the EP that I was going to drop as singles and shoot music videos for each of them. But it was crazy when 90% of the fans started to choose “Only Fan Account” as their favourite and went as far as quoting the lyrics word for word. Also, Only Fan Account was the last song I recorded on the EP. I initially recorded it as a bonus track just to complete my 20 track EP.”

Which artists are you hoping to work with? Can we expect any new music soon?

“Yes! With Scooby Ginger, you must expect new music every 3 months with a music video to go with. I have got projects coming out in future with Davido, Olamide & a few top African acts. However, those projects will come out as soon as we shoot music videos. You know, as very busy artists, its kind of tricky to be available for video shoots when it’s a collaboration, ” he mentions.

If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would that word be & why?

“GINGER! It’s a West African lingo that means HYPER!!! ENERGETIC!!!! LETS GO!!!! Let’s GET IT!!!! Do it now, not later!!!! And that’s why a lot of fans call me SCOOBY GINGER”