As is typical of the band's history of music the album features a wide array of genres including punk, ska, reggae, soul, funk, and blues.

Additionally, Truth and Soul includes the band's earliest foray into hard rock and heavy metal.

The album begins with a cover version of Curtis Mayfield's "Freddie's Dead", originally from the soundtrack to the film Super Fly.

[3][4] Guitarist Kendall Jones was becoming concerned that the band's image was "cartoonish,"[4] and reviews of their previous album had, in fact, criticized the attempt at socially conscious subject matter alongside other absurd frat-rock songs.

[5][6] Meanwhile, Jones was beginning to experiment with heavy rock guitar work, which was influencing Fishbone's new material.