Pimba is a Portuguese depreciatory term used for qualifying a variety of popular Portuguese folk solo singers and bands whose songs are frequently driven by metaphors with sexual meanings.
Many Pimba songs use vulgar puns and jokes or address topics suggesting sexual behaviour, seemingly to gain popularity. Pimba bands and musicians/singers are influenced by the rural areas of the country and the emigration phenomena which permeated Portuguese society throughout the 20th century. Although based in some elements of Portuguese folk music, it is basically straightforward functional pop music with minimal lyrics, heavy use of rhythm boxes and cheap synthesizers and designed to be played in dancing parties and weddings.
Pimba music and musicians/groups are seen by some to be inferior to others dedicated to more mainstream or genuinely traditional genres, although often more popular[citation needed]. They can be said to use the same themes as folklore and target the same audience, though some Pimba singers shun the title and call themselves "poetic" or "romantic artists". A parallel between Pimba and American Country music audiences can be drawn, nevertheless the lyrics of Country music are usually of a more elevated nature and its musical content is completely based on folk tradition. .
