Lil Wayne six-strings us along

Lil Wayne: guitar hero. Who’d have thunk it?

Seems like every time you see the froggy-voiced rap superstar these days, he’s got a guitar strapped over his shoulder. Or he’s noodling tunelessly on one. Or as is most often likely, he’s just pretending to play -- even if the song he’s performing has no guitar.

For evidence, look no further than three of the Cash Money Millionaire’s recent appearances.

Earlier this month, Lil Wayne (whose “Tha Carter III” is 2008’s bestselling album with more than 2.5 million copies) became the first rapper ever to perform at the Country Music Awards, appearing with Kid Rock for his mash-up hit “All Summer Long.” Wearing a Tennessee Titans jersey, Weezy gripped the neck of his electric guitar loosely but commandingly; deep in concentration, he appeared to channel his inner Joe Satriani, executing a blistering solo. But not a single note of it could be heard over the P.A. Meanwhile, the band’s “real” guitarist -- a member of Rock’s backing band, wearing a shirt emblazoned with “Joe the Strummer” -- was coming across loud and clear. Maybe someone forgot to plug Weezy in?

Hopping genres again in the video for Kevin Rudolf’s crossover hit “Let It Rock,” the rapper is filmed playing what appears to be a Fender Jazzmaster, demonstrating shades of Eddie Van Halen; he looks to be shredding through yet another flamboyant solo.

Never mind that the guitar is not used until later (and those few notes are played by Rudolf, not Lil Wayne), the message is implicit: Weezy is a rock star, an aspiring David Bowie even, if you consider the refrain of his song “Phone Home”: “We are not the same. I am a Martian.”

Although Lil Wayne’s got the slumping stance and intensity of a golden guitar god down pat, his technique can be distracting for anyone who knows their way around a six-string.

In the video for his latest single, “Mrs. Officer/Comfortable,” he sits on the hood of a police car picking at a red acoustic. It provides a somewhat jarring juxtaposition with the flamenco-esque strains sampled in the song to see Weezy working away at the bottom of the instrument’s neck with his thumb (as opposed to strumming down the fret board with a pick).

Lil Wayne has a history of faking the funk: One of the first times he was seen picking up an ax was in his 2006 “Leather So Soft” video -- near the end, the backing track gives way to his amateurish fumblings.

Of course, Weezy’s so-awful-they’re-brilliant noodlings reached their apogee in April, when he performed his No. 1 hit “Lollipop” on “Saturday Night Live.” Again, he whipped out his guitar and gave it his all, proving he wouldn’t know a chord if it were wrapped around his tremolo bar.

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chris.lee@latimes.com