Slang dictionary
blem
[blem]
What does blem mean?
Blem is a slang word that can mean “cigarette,” “marijuana,” “a joint,” or just being really, really “high.”
Where does blem come from?
Blem originated as UK slang, apparently by way of the Caribbean, for “cigarettes” and”marijuana” by the early 2000s. Its exact origins are obscure.
Blem spread into the larger population of the southern UK—and to another country with the queen on their currency, Canada, by 2006. That’s when high-school student, and now major hip-hop producer T-Minus, recalls blem used as slang for “being high.” Canada, especially Toronto, has a largely Caribbean (especially Jamaican) population, which may further explain how blem made its way there.
Blem might have remained a relatively obscure bit of slang, relegated to a few corners of the British Commonwealth, had T-Minus and Drake, a Toronto native, not gotten together in 2017 to write Blem, the seventh track on Drake’s More Life mixtape.
Sampling Lionel Richie, the song Blem tells the story of a love affair, featuring the line in the chorus: “I’m blem for real, I might just say how I feel.” Blem, here, suggests the singer is “high” on love.
Google searches for blem spiked as soon as the song was released, and blem entered popular vocabulary overnight.
Examples of blem
Who uses blem?
Blem sees some currency for “marijuana” or “being high” in UK, Caribbean, and Canadian black slang, though it’s widely associated with Drake and his song among American English speakers.
yeah my check going to food & blem
— 10|10 🥂 (@_DEshaderoom) October 17, 2018
If you’re the type of person who likes to get blem when you clean the house, why not try cleaning your house with it? Blem is what Pledge is called in Argentina, because it removes blemishes …
Hello Sandra 3000
Singer/songwriter Timaya, who hails from another Commonwealth country, Nigeria, released “Ah Blem Blem,” a song about a girl sweeter than marijuana, in 2018.
And, yes, there are people on the internet who use blem as a shortened form of problem. (Which might just be worse than the nickname Topher. Your name is Chris. Get over it.)
saying "blem" instead of problem is dumb.
— THE GIRL JB 🖤 (@jessicaface_) November 6, 2012
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of blem like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of blem that will help our users expand their word mastery.