[1] The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200,[2] received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[3] and sold 205,343 units in its first week.

Despite this, Forever was met with mixed to negative reviews and trailed the success of his previous album, No Way Out (1997).

As with previous Bad Boy releases, much of the criticism was directed towards the over-commercialization of the hip hop genre and its incorporation of dance-pop, lower production quality and lackluster lyrics compared to its predecessor, many of which caused controversy at the time.

[10] However, Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly described the album as "brimming with megalomania, paranoia, and a comically solipsistic worldview" and Puff Daddy's rapping style as a "curiously dead monotone".

As of September 24, 1999, Forever has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for selling 1,000,000 copies.