Rapper Treach from Naughty By Nature was given a ticket for driving with a suspended license after he was pulled over for driving the wrong way down a one-way street ... all the while wearing a bulletproof vest.

Treach was busted yesterday in Newark, NJ. after police were called to the area because of a report of shots fired. Treach was pulled over in "the immediate area of the shooting incident" but Newark PD tells TMZ they have no suspect (or even a victim) and that Treach is only "a potential witness at this time."

TMZ fun fact -- it is not a crime to wear a bulletproof vest in New Jersey, unless it is worn during illegal activity. The more you know ...