"Pills & Automobiles" received positive reviews from music critics, that complimented the song catchiness and its production, noting it as a detachment from Brown standard R&B type of music, adapting his skills into trap music. In the United States, "Pills & Automobiles" reached number 16 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Its music video, shot at Splash Kingdom Waterpark, in California, was released on August 25, 2017, and displays a large pool party, where Brown and his dancing crew showcase some dancing choreographies.
On May 2, 2017, Chris Brown announced the initial Heartbreak on a Full Moon tracklist, and the song was not among the 40 songs announced,[3] but the album's release was later postponed. Subsequently, Brown, Yo Gotti, A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Kodak Black, met following their performances at "HOT 97 Summer Jam 2017", a concert organized by American radio Hot 97 on June 12, 2017,[4] composing and recording the song that night at Quad Studios, in New York City, over a production by OG Parker, The Martianz and Smash David.
In July 2017, Brown announced the upcoming release of singles from his album,[5] then releasing "Pills & Automobiles" and "Questions" on August 4, and August 16, respectively.
"Pills & Automobiles" is a trap up-tempo song, that runs for 4 minutes and 52 seconds, produced by OG Parker, The Martianz and Smash David. Each artist on the track performs one verse, with Brown doing a chorus that starts with the repetition of the word "wet", and ends alternating ad-libs with a mumbled "I'm just tryna change your life". Brown's voice on the track is edited with Auto-Tune, making it sound "ghosty" in his rapped verse, according to Brad Wete of Billboard.[6] In the song, the artists talk about their relationship with reckless women.[7]
Writing for Billboard, Nerisha Penrose said that Brown's "vocals are bathed in Auto-Tune as he sings about getting high and having multiple women" and "leads into the song's catchy hook".[8] According to Lindsey India of XXL, the track features Brown "in his trap music element, spitting some catchy, melodic rhymes over a candy-synthed club-friendly beat", and felt "Gotti comes in with a signature verse of his own, while A Boogie and Kodak provide some of their own crooning towards the end".[9]Complex reviewers found the song to be a detachment from "Brown's classic yearning R&B music", noting that the singer "taking a risk, he put aside his well-known singing talent, to try his hand into druggy autotuned trap music, and the result is surprisingly good, even if it doesn't represent his musical heights".[10]
The accompanying music video was released on August 25, 2017. It was directed by Chris Brown, and filmed in Splash Kingdom Waterpark, in California, where the visual for Justin Bieber's 2012 song "Beauty and a Beat" was also filmed.[11] The video shows Brown and his dancers executing complex choreographies in a shallow pool, intercut with scenes of women twerking.[12] Yo Gotti appears on the poolside, being surrounded by women. A Boogie is in the pool, sitting on an inflatable float and holding a water gun as he raps, while Kodak Black, due to his house arrest at the time, was filmed in a different scenario, riding a dirt bike and posing in front of a luxurious orange car with half-naked women by his side.[13][14][15] "No one knew it was shot and that Chris Brown was on site that day," said Pamela Kennedy, a representative for park owners. "We understand the importance, especially for videographers and artists, to provide a suitable environment to shoot and do their craft."[16]
