Jersey City rapper Joe Budden was arrested on suspicion of smoking pot in Times Square, moments before he was to take the stage and perform a concert at the Best Buy Theater Thursday night.
Grammy-nominated Budden is part of Eminem’s new rap group Slaughterhouse, which includes Crooked I., Joell Ortiz and Royce da 5’9”. Eminem was in his hometown of Detroit at the time when, police sources said, Budden — most famous for his 2003 hit “Pump It Up” — was arrested while standing outside the West 44th Street venue. He was given a ticket for marijuana possession and taken into custody.
As the rest of the band and a large audience showed up for the concert, sources say execs from Shady Records desperately went into search-and-rescue mode, trying to figure out how to free Budden.
But after a delay, Slaughterhouse went on without him, and Budden was noticeably missing from the stage during the group’s first track, “The Illest,” witnesses told us.
After the second song, the rappers finally told the 2,000-plus fans that Budden had been arrested and called the cops’ actions “ridiculous.” In response, the crowd chanted “Free Joe Budden” in unison for two minutes.
Meanwhile, Shady execs were still battling to get Budden sprung. “They had a few people running back and forth between The Tombs and the theater. Everybody was on their phones frantically texting and calling,” said a source.
Budden missed the show, but was released later after he pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license. He will be sentenced on June 1 and will have to pay a $75 fine. A rep for Shady Records confirmed Budden’s arrest.
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