Born in Bay Shore, New York, and raised between St. Albans, New York and Hollis, New York in the borough of Queens. The only child of Ondrea (née Griffith) and James Smith, Jr. Smith is of both African American and Native American descent. He spent his youth singing in the church choir, participating in the Boy Scouts and delivering newspapers.
Def Jam released his first record, the 12" single "I Need a Beat" in 1983. The single sold over 100,000 copies. The success of "I Need a Beat" helped lead to a distribution deal with Def Jam and Columbia Records in 1985. Soon after, he dropped out of Andrew Jackson High School to record his debut album.
He is known for romantic ballads such as I Need Love and Hey Lover as well as pioneering hip-hop such as I Can't Live Without My Radio, I'm Bad, The Boomin' System, Mama Said Knock You Out, and 4, 3, 2, 1. L has also appeared in several films. LL Cool J is one of a few hip-hop stars of his era to sustain a successful recording career for more than two decades. He has released 12 albums and a greatest hits compilation so far, with his next album, Exit 13, set to be released in September, 2008. The album will be the last for LL's record deal with Def Jam Recordings, a deal which has lasted for over twenty two years, making it the longest single hip hop deal to date. He now resides in Manhasset, NY with his wife and four children.
Freeze
LL Cool J Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Put my lifestyle on hold for you
All them sweet things that I told you
This conversation is overdue
Freeze!
Getting too wild to respect the vow
I just ain't ready to settle down
Freeze!
Feels like I'm ready when I'm holding you
But it's so many honey's what I'm supposed to do?
Keep sending them apology notes to you?
Freeze!
All I need is for you to freeze
This is hard on me
I don't wanna leave
But in the mean time take back the keys and
Freeze!
Don't change
Don't go
Don't leave
Just freeze!
I know girl it's a lot to ask!
Tell me what other choice I have
When you love someone reach back
Just freeze!
Don't change
Don't go
Don't leave
Just freeze!
Girl I hope you understand
Promise I'll be back for you
When I become a better man
Why I gotta do this?
I ain't sure
Why I gotta wild out?
Iono
I know how it feels
I been hurt before
I know you disappointed you expected more
Freeze!
I'm loosing a good one and that's fo'sho
I be tryina fight but it calls me yo
Please don't change the locks on tha door
Freeze!
Quit cryin' 'cause it ain't yo fault
Blame it on the streets of New York
Young L gotta walk this walk girl
Freeze!
I know it's rough but I need your support
You said it all last time that we fought
So don't talk baby hold that thought and
Freeze!
Don't change
Don't go
Don't leave
Just freeze!
I know girl it's a lot to ask!
Tell me what other choice I have
When you love someone reach back
Just freeze!
Don't change
Don't go
Don't leave
Just freeze!
Girl I hope you understand
Promise I'll be back for you
When I become a better man
What would you think if I told you that I
Knew that I was breaking your heart
Want to explain but where should I start?
What would you think if I told you that I
Wake up every morning with a different girl
Cause I don't wanna settle down before I see the world!
What would you think if I told you that I
Know exactly what you need indeed
Hate to follow but I'm scared to lead
Too scared love will get the best of me
I know deep down by the zest of me
Hopefully some day I can give you that ring
But until then just do this one thing
Freeze!
Don't change
Don't go
Don't leave
Just freeze!
I know girl it's a lot to ask!
Tell me what other choice I have
When you love someone reach back
Just freeze!
Don't change
Don't go
Don't leave
Just freeze!
Girl I hope you understand
Promise I'll be back for you
When I become a better man
Freeze!
I mean listen, I like you
It's not like I forgot about you
Know what I'm sayin'
I just gotta get this out of my system
Knowhadimean?
If I could just freeze you
Iono if I'm ready for a relationship,
You know what I'm sayin'
I mean, I know we gonna be together one day
Matter of fact I promise you
But for right now I just need you to
Freeze!
In LL Cool J's song Freeze, the rapper describes his struggle with commitment in a relationship. He acknowledges that he has made promises to his partner but also recognizes that he is not ready to settle down. He expresses his fear that his desire to see other girls will cause him to hurt her, and he knows he risks losing her by his indecisiveness. LL Cool J's plea to his partner to "freeze" is not a way to end the relationship but instead a request to put everything on hold until he can figure things out. As he sings, "Don't change, don't go, don't leave, just freeze."
The chorus repeats several times, emphasizing the main theme of the song, and adding a sense of urgency as LL Cool J pleads for his partner not to give up on him. He is aware that he is asking a lot from his partner, yet he hopes that she will understand that he needs time to work on himself. LL Cool J promises to come back to her when he becomes a "better man." The song Freeze is a heartfelt confession of LL Cool J's dilemma and his hope that his partner will give him the space he needs to figure things out.
Line by Line Meaning
I know I said I would roll with you
I promised to be with you
Put my lifestyle on hold for you
I promised to prioritize you above everything else
All them sweet things that I told you
I promised good things to you
This conversation is overdue
We need to talk about this now
Freeze!
Please pause the conversation for a minute
Getting too wild to respect the vow
I'm too wild to keep my promise with you
I just ain't ready to settle down
I'm not ready to commit to you and settle down
My name too big in the ghetto now
My reputation is too big to handle
Feels like I'm ready when I'm holding you
I feel ready to be with you when we're together
But it's so many honey's what I'm supposed to do?
But there are so many other potential partners around
Keep sending them apology notes to you?
Should I keep apologizing to you for my actions?
All I need is for you to freeze
I need you to stop talking and listen to me for a moment
This is hard on me
I'm struggling with this situation
I don't wanna leave
I don't want to break up with you
But in the mean time take back the keys and
For now, please take back the keys to my place
Freeze!
Please pause the conversation for a minute
Don't change
Stay the same
Don't go
Don't leave me
Just freeze!
Please pause the conversation for a minute
I know girl it's a lot to ask!
I know it's a lot to ask, but please do it for me
Tell me what other choice I have
I'm not sure what else I can do
When you love someone reach back
When you love someone, hold on to them tightly
Girl I hope you understand
I hope you can understand my position
Promise I'll be back for you
I promise to come back for you
When I become a better man
When I'm ready to be a better partner
Why I gotta do this?
I don't know why I have to do this
I ain't sure
I'm not sure
Why I gotta wild out?
Why do I have to be so unpredictable?
Iono
I don't know
I know how it feels
I know how it feels to be in your shoes
I been hurt before
I've been hurt in the past
I know you disappointed you expected more
I know you're disappointed in me because you expected more
I'm loosing a good one and that's fo'sho
I'm losing a good partner and that's for sure
I be tryina fight but it calls me yo
I'm trying to resist temptation, but it's calling me
Please don't change the locks on tha door
Please don't lock me out of your life
Quit cryin' 'cause it ain't yo fault
Stop crying because it's not your fault
Blame it on the streets of New York
Blame it on the harsh realities of life in New York
Young L gotta walk this walk girl
I have to learn from my experiences
I know it's rough but I need your support
I know it's tough, but I need your help
You said it all last time that we fought
You said everything you needed to last time we argued
So don't talk baby hold that thought and
So please listen and wait for me to finish
What would you think if I told you that I
How would you react if I said that I
Knew that I was breaking your heart
Knew that I was hurting you
Want to explain but where should I start?
I want to explain, but don't know where to begin
Wake up every morning with a different girl
I wake up with a new partner almost every day
Cause I don't wanna settle down before I see the world!
I don't want to commit to anyone until I've experienced everything I want to
Know exactly what you need indeed
I know what you need from me
Hate to follow but I'm scared to lead
I don't want to disappoint you, but I'm afraid to take charge
Too scared love will get the best of me
I'm scared that love will overpower me
I know deep down by the zest of me
I know in my heart
Hopefully some day I can give you that ring
I hope to marry you someday
But until then just do this one thing
But for now, please do this one thing
I mean listen, I like you
I really do like you
It's not like I forgot about you
I haven't forgotten about you
Know what I'm sayin'
You know what I mean
I just gotta get this out of my system
I have to deal with this situation first
Knowhadimean?
Do you know what I mean?
Iono if I'm ready for a relationship
I'm not sure if I'm ready for a commitment
You know what I'm sayin'
You know what I mean
I mean, I know we gonna be together one day
I know we'll be together in the future
Matter of fact I promise you
In fact, I promise you
Freeze!
Please pause the conversation for a minute
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTHONY LEWIS SMITH, DONNA SUMMER, BRUCE SUDANO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Just The Facts
LL is truly a legend . Once I got older i really appreciated his music. He is versatile many different styles
Chitown
Exactly
Kyrstie Addison
I really agree with you 💯 precent
Tenecia Green
This is still my jam! Lyfe Jennings vocals are unmatched !
Aaron Edwards
LL flow in every song is on point one of the best artist ever
Young God
Aaron Edwards Facts
Nick L
#facts
ashimadaniel31
Word
Derek Daquelle
definitely
d mar
And the way he was able to adjust to the times and still be himself was pretty impressive late 80s 90s and early 00s