Mahaleo's lyrics draw upon the indirect language of traditional hainteny and ohabolana (Malagasy poetry and proverbs) to expose contemporary political and social issues and invite listeners to identify their own solutions.

While the band is acclaimed for its large catalog of hits, with over 300 songs composed since 1972, its members are also admired for their commitment to live the message of solidarity for national development that features in most of their music.

Each band member has gone on to cultivate a primary career in addition to his participation in Mahaleo in areas ranging from medical care and sociology to farming and politics.

He met frequently with Dadah and Nono to play together using guitars he constructed from wood and bicycle brake cables available at a workshop attached to a center for the deaf and blind where his father worked; the trio began performing at school parties and events.

As teens, the trio often listened to a radio show hosted by popular Malagasy journalist and ethnomusicologist Latimer Rangers, who recorded, broadcast and promoted contemporary and traditional music from villages across Madagascar.

As they entertained protesters at their high school, they were joined by the other members of the group to compose and perform new songs with diverse themes ranging from politics to love.

[12] In addition to being part of Dama's family name (Zafimahaleo), the word appealed to the group as the embodiment of their purpose to empower the disenfranchised masses and exalt Malagasy values and culture in the post-colonial era.

Although Bekoto had initially been reluctant to take sides because he was a largely apolitical adolescent and dating the daughter of the Prime Minister, this event galvanized the group members and led to the intensification of student protests across the island.

As the younger band members completed their high school studies, they performed frequent concerts in Antananarivo, staying overnight in the student dorms with Raoul and Nono.

[17] As each of the younger boys passed their baccalaureat, they moved to Antananarivo to continue their studies at the university, which they paid through a combination of state subsidies and the profits from their concerts.

Although there were occasional arguments between Bekoto and members of Lolo sy ny Tariny that garnered publicity, the band remained largely above political disputes.

Shortly afterward, the national television channel RadioTelevision Malgache (RTM) shot a black and white film of the band over the course of fifteen days in Antsirabe.

They continued to gain in popularity, regularly performing live shows across Madagascar and launching frequent tours to play for the Malagasy diaspora in major French population centers like Paris, Toulouse and Marseille.

[24] As the years passed and the members of the band matured in their respective careers, they started to write songs more relevant to the difficult conditions of life of the Malagasy people and the underdeveloped state of the nation, addressing such topics as environmental conservation, poverty, education, and violence.

[25] Among their hits in this period are songs that address rural-urban flight, homesickness after moving abroad to find work, husbands who abandon their families, and the guilt of military personnel required to carry out repression against their compatriots.

[28] Travel agencies in Antananarivo promoted "Mahaleo packages" designed to enable fans in Madagascar to easily plan a trip to Paris to see the group perform at this prestigious French venue.

Most evident is the influence of the ba gasy Malagasy guitar with a vocal accompaniment style that emerged in the highlands of Madagascar in the early 20th century.

[34] The band members are described by an Afrisson reviewer as "intellectual", and their lyrics are often politically charged and advocate for rebuilding the country and Malagasy society and culture.

The lyrics of Mahaleo's earlier songs in particular promoted the values of Marxism,[13] reflecting the popularity of socialist philosophies as the best alternative to neocolonialism in Africa and other regions freeing themselves from the control of Europe;[6] the group also commonly explored the themes of conflict, the political demands of the people, love, friendship and death.

[35] This is a country where peasants are constantly seeking a way out of their miasma and city dwellers want to escape the stressful labyrinth of urban life, and where youth move too quickly from childhood to adolescence, past to modernity, and poverty to death.

The reviewer attributes the resonance of their messages to the band members' pursuit of careers outside of music that enable them to contribute to national development and keep them engaged in the daily concerns of their average compatriot, observing "The repeated hopes and disappointments of the post-independence period have generated the island's modern myths, the songs of Mahaleo.

"[21] A Radio France Internationale journalist asserts, "In the highlands of Madagascar, building a bonfire without playing or singing Mahaleo seems quite simply inconceivable, so strongly has this group's musical repertoire taken hold in Malagasy people's hearts.

[11] A live concert DVD produced by Laterit Productions and released in 2007 compiles highlights from the band's 35th anniversary performances at the Olympia theater in Paris; the disc features the subtitled transcription of each song's lyrics in Malagasy, French and English.

Dama operates and hosts a local radio station, which serves as one of several fora for his efforts to educate the public on HIV/AIDS and good practice in the agriculture sector and in water management.

[33] Dama drew his musical influences from his father, who played guitar and sang the traditional songs of the Malagasy highlands, as well as his mother, who enjoyed writing short stories and articles about daily life in Madagascar.

He began composing lyrics at the age of eleven in French, but soon afterward was drawn to the "musicality" of the Malagasy language and wrote pieces in his mother tongue.

Fafa began playing guitar at the age of nine and sang along with popular European and American artists on the radio, including Harry Belafonte, Claude François and Mike Brant.

Charle has been an advocate for the poorest neighborhoods in Antananarivo and in nearby rural areas, and established the CICAFE association to improve living conditions there.

[33] A self-declared "extremist",[44] Bekoto became a passionate advocate for socialist principles and social revolution as expressed in Ratsiraka's Boky Mena manifesto during his years at the university.

In addition to performing with the band, Raoul worked as a primary care doctor, having completed his training in social medicine in Romania,[33] where he lived and studied from 1974 to 1980 on a university scholarship.