Eventually R&B artists would make music that would be placed on the format. This developed into the subgenre of quiet storm, and rose to prominence in the mid-80s. Artists such as Luther Vandross, Patti LaBelle, Sade, and Anita Baker became mainstays– particularly appealing to the tastes of affluent Black radio audiences. However, by the late-80s, the rise of hip hop somewhat made quiet storm niche on both radio and in R&B music (as the latter turned to hip hop influenced new jack swing).

Throughout the ‘90s and into the 2000s, quiet storm remained a central part to the growth of the genre– as Sade, Vandross, and Baker continued with the sound– inspiring the likes of Aaliyah, Faith Evans, and Brian McKnight. Occasionally artists of today revisit the sound, or even sample quiet storm gems– as evident by Plies and Ashanti using the Deele’s “Two Occasions” on “Want It, Need It,” and Drake shouting out the format on “After Dark.” Now quiet storm is a historic part of nostalgia where collectors can find compilation CDs featuring the greatest hits of the genre, or reminisce about the infomercials for those items that featured the songs.