The album was supported by the lead single "Revenge", and is XXXTentacion's second commercial record, following the compilation mixtape of the same name (2017).

The album is built on acoustic and piano-driven songs, rather than the "turn-up" style and distortion bass sounds that was popular in XXXTentacion's native Florida scene.

It experiments with a variety of genres, such as emo, lo-fi, indie rock, alternative R&B and grunge, while the lyrics are based around themes such as suicide, failed relationships, and infidelity.

"Jocelyn Flores", "Revenge", "Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares", "Depression & Obsession", "Save Me" and "Carry On" all debuted on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Jocelyn Flores", "Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares" and "Fuck Love" also debuted in the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart.

It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, with 87,000 album-equivalent units, and has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[7][8] Empire Distribution made an official announcement on March 2, 2017, while he was still in jail that his debut album Bad Vibes would be released in spring 2017.

[20] Andrew Matson of Mass Appeal highlighted that XXXTentacion "is at the forefront of the current rock & roll twist on hip-hop...and constructs an emo record that calls on some of his past work (the guitar stuff) but completely leaves behind his popular turn-up style and distortion bass" that was popular in the Florida scene.

called the album an "emotional rollercoaster contained of different genres, all kept together by XXX's ever-changing lyricism and Aaron Lewis-esque harmonics", and that it "has you in absolute awe of [XXXtentacion's] talent, even in the midst of his alleged past transgressions.

[27] The snippets shown was his iTunes library page with the album being played showcasing a tracklist of 8 songs.

He kept his thumb on the feature that showcases the song count on the computer monitor and didn't announce the tracklist as official.

[28] The songs showcased in the snippets included "Jocelyn Flores", "Save Me", "Fuck Love" featuring Trippie Redd, "Orlando" and "Ayala (Outro)".

[29] The day before the album's release, the song "Fuck Love" featuring Trippie Redd was uploaded to SoundCloud.

[32] However, many were quick to point out that the video was fake and suspected it was a publicity stunt to draw more attention to his upcoming album, which the press condemned and heavily criticized the rapper for.

"[38] Mitch Findlay of HotNewHipHop called it "different from your average hip hop album", highlighting its lo-fi aesthetic, experimentation with guitar arrangements and vocals.

[39] Notable figures in the hip hop music industry also gave recognition to the album, including American rapper Kendrick Lamar, who wrote on Twitter, "listen to [17] if you feel anything.

Following the release, the album was promoted on social media by numerous other artists including Kendrick Lamar,[42][43] Tory Lanez,[44] 9th Wonder,[45] and Lil Yachty.

[61] Three songs—"Jocelyn Flores", "Everybody Dies in Their Nightmares" and "Fuck Love"—debuted in the top 100 of the UK Singles Chart, at numbers 56, 88 and 99, respectively.

Rolling Stone reported that 17 "hit the charts with no record label besides his own imprint, no radio play and a near-total press blackout.