14 Songs For When Your Valentine's Day Bae Is Yourself

For all of us who don’t have a day full of flowers, cocktail hours, and fancy meals planned with their girlfriend, beau, or random date for the evening, here’s a Valentine’s Day playlist that focuses on self-love, self-empowerment, and healing.

TLC – “No Scrubs”

“So no, I don’t want your number / No, I don’t want to give you mine and / No, I don’t want to meet you nowhere / No, I don’t want none of your time.”

Kendrick Lamar – “i”

“As I look around me / So many motherfuckers wanna down me / But an enemigo never drown me / In front of a dirty double-mirror they found me / I love myself.”

The National – “All the Wine”

“I’m put together so beautifully / Big wet bottle in my fist / Big wet rose in my teeth / I’m a perfect piece of ass.”
https://vimeo.com/6588105

Jill Scott – “Golden (Kaytranada’s Life Extended Living Edition)”

“I’m taking my freedom / Pulling it off the shelf / Putting it on my chain / Wear it around my neck / I’m taking my freedom / Putting it in my car / Wherever I choose to go / It will take me far.”

Janet Jackson – “Control”

“Got my own mind / I wanna make my own decisions / When it has to do with my life, my life / I wanna be the one in control.”

Chance The Rapper – “No Problem” ft. 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne

“You don’t want no problem, want no problem with me, bih! / You don’t want no problem, want no problem with me / Just another day, had to pick up all the mail / There go Chano ridin’ through the streets, they be like, ‘There he go!'”

Nicki Minaj – “Feeling Myself” ft. Beyoncé

“Bitch, never left but I’m back at it,and I’m feelin’ myself, jack rabbit / Feelin’ myself, back off, cause I’m feelin’ myself, jack off / He be thinking about me when he whacks off, wax on? Wax off.”

Cage The Elephant – “In One Ear”

“So it goes in one ear and right out the other / People talking shit but you know I never bother / It goes in one ear and right out the other / People talking shit, they can kiss the back of my hand.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPgWNuUkuA8

Destiny’s Child – “Independent Women, Pt. 1”

The shoes on my feet / I’ve bought it / The clothes I’m wearing / I’ve bought it / The rock I’m rocking / I bought it / Cause I depend on me. If I want it / The watch I’m wearing / I bought it / The house I live in / I’ve bought it / The car I’m driving / I’ve bought it / I depend on me.”

Florence + The Machine – “Shake It Out”

“And I’ve been a fool and I’ve been blind / I can never leave the past behind / I can see no way, I can see no way / I’m always dragging that horse around / All of his questions such a mournful sound / Tonight I’m gonna bury that horse in the ground / Cause I like to keep my issues drawn / But it’s always darkest before the dawn.”

Janelle Monae – “Q.U.E.E.N.” ft. Erykah Badu

“Am I a freak for dancing around? / Am I a freak for getting down? / I’m cutting up, don’t cut me down / Yeah I wanna be, wanna be queen.”

Chairlift – “Ch-Ching”

“Nobody will help you ’til you go and help yourself / Take it and don’t wait for it to come from someone else / I’ve got everything I need right here, between my hands / And there it is right in front of me.”

Charli XCX – “Body of My Own”

“I’m into myself, don’t need you / Cause I can make it feel just like I’m hanging on / Yeah, I can do it better when I’m all alone / Lights out, so high.”

Modest Mouse – “Float On”

“Bad news comes, don’t you worry even when it lands / Good news will work its way to all them plans / We both got fired on exactly the same day / Well, we’ll float on, good news is on the way.”

About the author

Ryan Kristobak

Music Editor

Hailing from the booming metropolis that is Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Ryan grew up surrounded by Amish farms and performed in a variety of questionable musical acts. After studying journalism at Penn State and working as an editor at the startup blog Onward State, Ryan moved to New York City to work for The Huffington Post as the Music and Entertainment Social Media Editor. When he isn't pouring through new music or managing the artists Angelo Mota and Marathon, he is endlessly quoting "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia", "Archer" and "Kroll Show" to anyone that will listen.