Spotlight: Billy Cook

Houston singer Billy Cook's previous gold strikes surfaced in Rap-a-Lot releases from Big Mike, Do or Die, and Bun B. Now a platinum plaque for Chamillionaire's Universal debut, The Sound of Revenge, adorns his wall. Cook's decadelong collaborations now top 450 albums, so a little industry recognition goes a long way.

"A lot of times rappers who bring me in to record will be cool about it and pay me, but forget to put my name on the album," he says. "I think it's done intentionally at times. They'll tuck my vocals low in the mix [or] leave my choruses loud, but tuck my leads and ad-libs.

"I'm the one making people remember the title of the song, yet they're going to leave my name off?"

Cook's 2006 solo project, The Truth, cashes in guest-appearance favors from Bun, Cham, Trae, and the late Hawk. Dragging R&B across cold city streets, it supports the singer's brisk, confident air.

"The way I see it," pontificates the ever-boastful Cook, "I set the pace and tone of the South. I'm a powerhouse singer, and others need to come up to my level or get out of the game."

Cook just wrapped a mix CD with a French DJ and, perhaps already more appreciated in Germany and Japan than back home, he winks as he considers just how much bigger he could become in China.

"One of the reasons it seems that I'm doing better overseas is that bootlegging doesn't hurt me over there as much as it does here," says Cook. "Thank God for my faithful CD buyers out there, wherever they may be."