Rex Jim Lawson (c.1930 - 1969), known as Cardinal Rex, was a singer, trumpeter and bandleader from Kalabari (Ijaw), Nigeria. One of the best-known highlife musicians of the 1960s, Lawson played with Sammy Obot, Bobby Benson, Victor Olaiya, Chris Ajiko, and other Ghanaian and Nigerian musicians and bands. His greatest success came as the leader of the Mayors Dance Band; their recorded hits include So ala teme, Yellow Sisi, Gowon Special, and Jolly Papa.