Brick City’s lyrical marksman Tru Trilla brings the noise and then some on the new explosive hip hop album “God of Barz”.

From the State that brought us Wu Tang, Rah Digga and Ice-T, the New Jersey rapper and long term affiliate of Naughty by Nature and Lords of the Underground follows in their legendary footsteps with a heavy verbal artillery at his disposal delivering fierce bars and dexterous rhymes.

Raw and uncompromising, Tru continues to plant a flag for the Garden State. As part of the group 050 Boyz who derive their name from the area code, he enjoyed worldwide recognition and media coverage for the release of their “050 Everything” album in 2015 which culminated in guest appearances on Sirius Xm at the invitation of both DJ Eclipse and DJ Premier.

The new album however represents a broadening of horizons. There is an additional international dynamic with productions courtesy of Barcelona’s Sumerio Square and England’s Chat One, while Chicago’s DNA Beatz weighs in with a concoction of sounds drawing from both the classic and contemporary eras.

With the musical passport stamped, Tru returns home and calls on local hero Clinton Place (aka Jamal Nueve) for some further sonic gems. Now based in Los Angeles, the original tour DJ of Flavor Unit’s Supreme C delivers high on the quality scale as expected of someone who has produced for Ice Cube, Mack 10, Canibus, Rass Kass, Skyzoo, Yukmouth and Killah Priest.

Newark natives Middy Murdock, Fly Kwa, Confucious and fellow group member Prince Ak compliment Tru’s rhyme schemes as the album’s featured guest artists, intensifying the energy with their own distinctive flows and gritty lyricism.

Tru digs deep with the subject matter. His passionate bars are a war cry championing the cause of the underdog, the disengaged, the oppressed and the aspirational. Deploying the narrative of the inner city, venomous lines are spat out with indignant defiance in a wave of precision targeted salvos.

The political tensions of racial profiling, corruption, deprivation and equal opportunities are given equal billing to wider issues of survival hardwired into the psyche of the street. Tru’s dedication to the traditional ethos of hip hop is also evident throughout, and like a veteran prize fighter prowls the ring in pursuit of young pretenders with their current representations of the genre.

Amidst this raucous war of attrition are moments of pathos with Tru in more reflective mode, recounting his earlier life and personal journey through the years.

The eclectic productions feed the mood swings. The driving fuel injected intensity of “God’s Mercy” is contrasted by the stripped down percussive beat in “Fake Views”. Straight head nodders “Word of God” and “God of Barz” play off the upbeat funk laced through “In and Out”, while the bass heavy electro banger God’s Sympathy reaches inside, pulls out the soul and sends it back in pieces.

In essence, “God of Barz” reflects Tru’s earliest influences Rakim and Public Enemy – bold and rugged, it’s the harsh realities served with some hip hop sugar. Compelling listening, one for the ages.