Rapper Joe Budden -- the guy behind the 2007 hit "Pump It Up" -- was arrested just hours before a concert in NYC yesterday ... and according to Budden ... it was all over a $75 parking ticket.
A rep for Budden tells TMZ ... cops showed up at a pre-concert meet-and-greet and informed Joe about a warrant out for his arrest due to an unpaid traffic ticket.
Budden's rep says ... the original fine was only $75 ... but cops still decided to arrest Joe and took him back to the station where he was booked and processed.
According to the rep, Budden has since been released from jail and insists Joe has "handled the matter."