Because he wears so many hats, there are plenty of words that can be used to describe music industry executive and television producer Phil Thornton.

But there is one word in particular that also comes to mind: fearless. And that’s because Thornton, who serves as senior vice president of Capitol Christian Music Group (Capitol CMG), has proven that he has the ability to confidently and consistently create projects and content that successfully goes against the grain.

After graduating from Norfolk State University and moving to New York City, Thornton started his first company, Bright Star Entertainment, an artist management/consultant firm. In 2007, Thornton settled in Los Angeles and co-founded Ten2One Entertainment, a multimedia, television production, and artist management conglomerate. In October 2016, Ten2One, along with Sony Pictures Television and ThinkFactory Media, released the made-for-TV film Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Miche’le, which premiered on Lifetime Network and garnered 2.3 million viewers.

While overseeing the artist management side of Ten2One, Thornton guided the careers of Faith Evans, Michelle Williams, Kenny Lattimore, and Mack Wilds. He also served as executive producer of the eOne-created hit show “It’s a Mann’s World,” starring David and Tamela Mann, which initially aired on BET and TV One. In 2018, Thornton and his team celebrated an NAACP Image Award win for “Outstanding Reality Series” for the show.

Before being named senior vice president of Capitol CMG in April 2022, Thornton served as senior vice president and general manager of RCA Inspiration (a division of Sony Music Entertainment) from June 2016 to March 2022, where he worked with a wide range of inspirational artists, including Kirk Franklin, Koryn Hawthorne, Marvin Sapp, and Donnie McClurkin.

Over the past several years, Thornton has tapped into first love, TV and film, and has created many exciting television and film projects. In 2022, he executive produced Never Would Have Made It: The Marvin Sapp Story, an epic biopic about the gospel star, while in February 2023, he served as consulting producer on A Nashville Legacy, starring Pooch Hall and Andrea Lewis, which premiered on the Hallmark Channel. In May 2023, his series, “The One,” a dating competition hosted by Kirk Franklin and his wife Tammy, premiered on TV One and is currently airing every Thursday night. Thornton has also served as director and executive producer of several episodes of TV One’s popular series “Uncensored,” on Sheryl Lee Ralph, Tevin Campbell, Missy Elliot, and Lil Wayne. In December 2022, he stepped in front of the small screen to appear in the holiday film Hip Hop Christmas Wedding, produced by Jamie Foxx and Datari Turner, which aired on Paramount Plus and VH1.

Thornton is also excelling in the podcast arena. His podcast, We Sound Crazy, which focuses on R&B and hip hop, recently became a two-hour formatted radio show airing on Sirius XM. Guests have included Mary J. Blige; Jennifer Hudson; Earth, Wind and Fire; Tamar Braxton; Usher; SWV; Omarion; and Anthony Hamilton.