That same year, he was the subject of Matthew Heineman’s moving Netflix documentary American Symphony , released in partnership with Barack Obama and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground. The film chronicles Batiste’s professional triumphs in 2022 — marked by nine Grammy nominations and five wins for his 2021 album We Are — while he simultaneously confronts his wife’s cancer recurrence. He also co-wrote the film’s original song “It Never Went Away,” which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.