Rap Band Denies Playing in L.A.

A representative of the rap group Wu-Tang Clan said Tuesday that none of the band’s members performed at a Century City nightclub before a fatal shooting nearby early Monday.

“The group was never booked and never performed,” said Tresa Sanders of Loud Records, speaking in New York for the group. “In fact, no member of the group was in Los Angeles at the time. It is defamatory to the group to report otherwise.”

In a promotional message on a telephone recording Tuesday, the promoter, Jamaican Gold, said it was presenting “Killah Priest-Wu-Tang” at the Century Club.

Promoter Jamie Koz said he believed Killah Priest was an original member of Wu-Tang and he had couched the announcement of his performance in the terms he had been given by Killah Priest’s record company.

But Sanders said Killah Priest was never a member of the nine-member group, although he had done some production work.

“People mistake him for Masta Killa, who is a member of our group,” she said.

Koz said that he usually books reggae acts and that “this is the first time we’ve tried something like this.”

“Obviously, it didn’t work out,” he said. “A very terrible incident happened. We’re not proud of it at all.”

Sanders said past Wu-Tang performances in Los Angeles at the House of Blues and other sites have been without violent incidents.

The Wu-Tang Clan is a Staten Island, N.Y., collective of rap stars that has scored major commercial and critical success as a group and as solo artists. ODB, Method Man, the RZA and Raekwon are among the colorful rhymers in the hard-core group, which is known for an odd mix of kung fu imagery and grim, surreal humor.

Shooting Victim Was College Student

The 2:40 a.m. shooting occurred near Little Santa Monica Boulevard and Century Park East. The Century Club is around the corner on Constellation Boulevard.

Tony Lorenzo Galloway, 26, was killed a block away when the chartered bus he and other fans were in was fired on by someone in an automobile. The Fontana resident was a Riverside Community College student and recently lived in Riverside.

Authorities have not released the names of the three wounded. Two victims remain at UCLA Medical Center.

Police have made no arrests.

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Times staff writers Douglas Haberman and Geoff Boucher contributed to this story.