A politically engaged artist, Hawat began composing and singing at a young age. He also participated in numerous plays by Ziad Rahbani, his childhood friend and artistic companion. He lived in Hamra during the civil war, surrounded by other musicians who fled the war and with whom he founded a collective of songwriters dedicated to the people’s issues. Throughout his life, he always resented the sectarianism in Lebanon which made it impossible for him to be with the woman he loved.