 At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 88, based on 40 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".AllMusic's Thom Jurek said that ""Bad as Me" is an aural portrait of all the places he's traveled as a recording artist, which is, in and of itself, illuminating and thoroughly enjoyable," awarding the album four out of five stars.Amanda Petrusich of "Pitchfork" noted that the album's "tracks are concise and expertly edited", adding that ""Bad as Me" feels as new as it does ancient."