Westside Gunn Shares Virgil Abloh Album Cover Art Origin, Won't Diss Lil Tay

Westside Gunn says his upcoming album "And Then You Pray For Me" should already be appraised as a classic -- artistically and musically -- with an exclusive Virgil Abloh painting for the project's artwork.

It’s the little attention to detail WSG is telling TMZ Hip Hop will set his album apart when it drops October 13, which he guarantees will become an art collectible down the line.

The Griselda Records founder tells us he's watched the competition for months, in what's been a light year for Hip Hop and is confident he has the Album of the Year ... Rick Ross, Ty Dolla $ign, Conway and Benny The Butcher are just a sprinkling of Gunn's heavyweight features but the album's key, he says, was tailor-making it to meet Virgil's heavenly approval!!!

WSG says Virgil convinced him to get a passport to attend his 2020 Off-White show in Paris -- a life-changing moment for the Buffalo, NY native as he began using his travels for content for his raps.

He had just dropped his "Dr. Birds" verse with the infamous line, "Told Virgil, write "Brick" on my brick" and was privileged to rub shoulders with the late Pop Smoke and Takeoff on the runway before their untimely deaths.

WSG's all about his music, but doesn't want beef ... especially with a little kid like Lil Tay.

Since Lil Tay's controversial reemergence, Gunn says Griselda fans have been on his head with claims she jacked his daughter Westside Pootie's style, as she's been spouting off audaciousness for years on his album.

Gunn tells us Pootie's been inspiring the comp for years ... and has even peeped kids following in her footsteps with the hand-drawn album covers like she did with his 2020 "Sunshine" album.