He wrote over 2000 songs and worked with artists including P. Ramlee, Saloma, Uji Rashid, Sudirman, Salamiah Hassan, Datuk Andre Goh and M.
[1] Nawab became involved in the industry in Singapore in the 1950s, 60s and then joined forces in the 1970s with Orkestra RTM in Malaysia for 17 years and received numerous awards.
The highest appreciation given by the Malaysian music industry to the senior composer is the Seniman Negara Award of 2006, on 20 November 2006.
The award was granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed Putra Jamalullail during the Anugerah Seni Negara event in 2006, organised by the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Tourism Malaysia or KeKKWa (acronym in Malay language).
He also received a RM60,000 cash prize and was appointed to become the official delegate of KeKKWa in national and international forums and seminars.