Najwa learned how to play guitar in 2009 when she was 14 years old, and afterwards began writing music for songs with her sister Ika, who wrote the lyrics. In September 2010, Najwa began uploading cover songs to YouTube; the first was a cover of Justin Bieber's "Baby".[3] In March 2011, she was signed to NAR Records and her first official single, "Cinta Muka Buku", was released in June 2011.[4] A pre-release video of the song was uploaded to YouTube, and it received approximately 9,000 views, which is significant in Malaysia.[citation needed] According to Najwa, this single is very meaningful to her, as it marked her first steps into the Malaysian music industry as well as to finally fulfill her dream and ambition of becoming a singer. It was also a gift for her fans who had long awaited her single and showed their support towards her long before she became an established singer. The official music video of "Cinta Muka Buku" received more than 6 million views in just over six months, and is the most viewed music video in Malaysia.[3]
In March 2013, Chinese idol singer Wang Leehom (王力宏) invited Najwa Latif to be a special guest at his concert at Genting Highlands in Malaysia. They performed the song "All the Things You Don't Know"(你不知道的事).
Until March 2013, Najwa able to maintain a consistent position in the Malaysian music scene as all her singles released since debut reached number 1 on major charts.[citation needed]