Bryan Chase Finds Freedom “OUTSIDE” with BIG Naughty
- Sarah Tan
- Jun 1
- 5 min read
If you’ve been feeling buried under everyday stress and mental noise, Bryan Chase and BIG Naughty are giving you a way out.
Released May 28, Bryan Chase’s new single “OUTSIDE” featuring BIG Naughty is a breath of fresh air. The Korean American hip-hop and R&B artist, formerly stylized as Bryan Cha$e, unpacks the weight of tangled thoughts and burnout. Rather than sitting in the negativity, the song pushes outward towards clarity and relief. Bryan frames escape as reclaiming yourself, not running away.
BIG Naughty, who’s signed to H1GHR MUSIC, the international label co-founded by Jay Park and Cha Cha Malone, brings an emotionally raw vocal tone that deepens the track. BIG Naughty first began to draw attention in 2019 on Show Me The Money 8, Mnet’s legendary rap competition, where contestants battle through elimination rounds judged by South Korea’s top hip-hop producers.
He’s only gotten sharper since, winning Best Rap & Hip-Hop Performance at the 2025 MAMA Awards for “MUSIC” featuring AKMU’s LEE CHANHYUK, and releasing his 2026 EP Between Cobalt and Navy earlier this year. Everything he’s built since then is exemplified in “OUTSIDE.”
The chorus says it all: “I’m outside, so I feel live again.” On the surface, “OUTSIDE” carries the feeling of breaking free, stepping out of your own head and reconnecting with the world. But listen closer, and the song works on two levels. The lyrics lean into confidence, desire, and a cocky freedom that BIG Naughty’s verse takes even further. Whether you take “OUTSIDE” as your mental reset anthem or just a feel-good bop, it lands either way.
It hooks you from the very first second. The instrumental builds slowly at the start, drawing you in before Bryan’s soft, whispery vocals come in, almost like he’s serenading you.
Then he enunciates “confidence” with more force, like he’s letting you feel the full weight of it before pulling back into his soft, airy tone. The beat drops right after, and he floats back into his whisper as if nothing happened.
At 2 minutes and 51 seconds, the song is perfectly packaged and leaves you wanting more. It embodies a late-night-drive energy, chill and unhurried. Bryan transitions smoothly between intentional softness and his natural voice throughout, while his smooth rap delivery, unique style, vocal flexibility, and melodic instinct pull you deeper into the song.
Meanwhile, BIG Naughty slides in naturally with his autotuned rap-sing, bringing a contrast in texture but never a disruption and making the whole track dynamic and immersive from start to finish. The beat stays the same the whole way through, running smoothly without pause. It went straight to our playlist, and we have a feeling it’ll do the same for you.
This is a brand-new chapter in Bryan Chase’s discography. Bryan debuted in 2015 with LOST IN THE CITY Pt.1 as part of The Cohort, the Korean hip-hop crew that helped build the blueprint for Korea’s modern underground hip-hop scene alongside fellow members Okasian and Keith Ape.
By 2016, Bryan and Okasian’s SoundCloud project The Last Orcas pushed the crew onto the international stage, with tracks “Let Us Prey,” “Walkin (Remix),” and “Underwater Bank” released through 88rising. They pulled in 10.4 million YouTube views, earning Bryan a nod from Hypebeast as “a staple of the underground rap scene of Seoul.”
Since then, Bryan Chase has built an impressive catalog of collaborators and partners, including THEBLACKLABEL, Interscope Records, 88rising, BIGBANG’s TAEYANG on “Nightfall” off the EP Down to Earth, and U.S. rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie on “2U.”
After joining Universal Music Korea in 2025, he got in the studio with pH-1, Sik-K, CAMO, ALLDAY PROJECT’s TARZZAN, Opium label’s Creative Director Nick Spiders, and more. His feature on “LOV3” with Sik-K and Lil Moshpit took home Korean Hip-Hop Track of the Year at the 2026 Korean Hip-Hop Awards.
Bryan Chase has been on quite a run this year, and “OUTSIDE” dropped right at the height of it. Just days before this release, Bryan was featured on “Blow Your Mind” by Yorch, the Thai singer, actor, and leader of K-pop boy group POW, alongside rapper Sik-K. Yorch, who was previously a HYBE trainee under the pre-debut group Trainee A before they disbanded, now leads POW under Grid Entertainment.
Two high-profile features within the same week, across different corners of the Asian music scene, show that Bryan Chase is planting himself across the region.
Bryan Chase will take the stage at RAPBEAT Festival 2026 at Oil Tank Culture Park, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Day 2, June 21, alongside 88rising artist Keith Ape. Korea’s biggest hip-hop festival runs across two days, and neither day is playing around.
Day 1, June 20, brings out ZICO (one of Korea’s best-selling solo artists and former Block B leader), Simon Dominic (Korean hip-hop veteran, one half of Supreme Team and former co-CEO of AOMG), TAEYONG of NCT, and H1GHR MUSIC as a collective stage featuring pH-1, lIlBOI, BIG Naughty, and Woodie Gochild.
Also on the bill are Dynamicduo (CHOIZA and Gaeko, the duo behind Korea’s best-selling hip-hop debut album Taxi Driver and TikTok viral global sensation “AEAO”), RIIZE (SM Entertainment’s K-pop boy group and million-sellers with their first single album, Get A Guitar), BOBBY of iKON, JOOHONEY of MONSTA X, Coogie & Woo Won Jae, YUMDDA, BewhY, Tabber, Rad Museum, DIMO REX (singer-songwriter BANG YEDAM’s genre-free alter ego, former TREASURE member), Molly Yam, Dabin.kr, untell, ZENE THE ZILLA, Nosun, and SINCE.
Day 2, June 21, features headliners Jay Park and Lil Moshpit, as well as KC, C JAMM, and Indigo Music (YANGHONGWON with HW MUSIC, ksmartboi, and NO:EL).
Joining them are JUSTHIS, Kid Milli, LNGSHOT (Jay Park’s first boy group under MORE VISION), Loopy, Shyboiitobii & Wuuslime, BILL STAX, Fleeky Bang & Tray B, OKASHII (Jeffrey White, Raf Sandou, MASON HOME, and Pullupboi), TRADE L, Roh Yun Ha, viceversa, Marv, YULEUM, and Kimmy gone.
Tickets are available on Melon Ticket, NOL Ticket, and Trip.com.
“OUTSIDE” is another strong entry in what’s shaping up to be Bryan’s busiest and most internationally connected era yet. If you haven’t been paying attention to Bryan Chase, now’s the time.
Stream “OUTSIDE” on all music streaming platforms and hear what all the noise is about.
Did “OUTSIDE” make it to your playlist on the first listen? Will you be catching Bryan Chase live at RAPBEAT Festival on June 21? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us on Instagram or X.
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Edited by Michelle Leung
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