Diddy will make another small screen debut tonight, reprising his role as Walter Lee in “Raisin in the Sun.”

The Bad Boy label head made headlines for the role in 2004, when he made his Broadway debut alongside Phylicia Rashad (“The Cosby Show”).

“Raisin” was the first play written by an African American woman (Lorraine Hansberry) to open on Broadway (1959), with the role of Walter Lee originally going to Sidney Poitier. The early reviews for the made for TV adaption praise Diddy for the ability to step into a role originally played by an industry giant.

“[It]take[s] a certain bravado, or a lack of sense, for an amateur to step into what is not only a difficult part to pull off, but also one that was originated by Sidney Poitier (onstage and in the 1961 film, for which Hansberry wrote the screenplay). That is running before you can walk,” The Los Angeles Times review reads.

The Times also praises the 38-year-old Diddy further, noting, “Combs does a fair enough job hitting his marks, and he has successfully made himself into a working-class man of the middle 20th century; there is no trace of his own fabulous life in his portrayal of Walter Lee…”

When asked about the attraction to “Raisin” in a recent interview, he discussed making the transition from music to acting, and taking on non traditional roles for someone coming from the Hip Hop community.

“After doing a quick role in ‘Monster’s Ball,’ [my acting coach] knew I wanted to take another route besides the cliché roles which you would expect of a rap artist that’s transitioning into acting,” he told EUR Web. “She said, ‘If you really, really want to get serious, I have the perfect role for you.’ Then, she told me about possibly playing Walter Lee Younger, Jr.”

However, despite his desire to enter the world of acting, Diddy wasn’t sure he could pull off the role of Lee.

“I was like, there’s no way I can do that. I’d never even been on a live stage. But she said, ‘You can’t have any fears,’ and so I just really jumped at the chance to do it without knowing how difficult and tough starring on Broadway was. It was a dream role for any actor, but it was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done as an artist, and it like truly changed my life.”

Diddy also served as co-producer for the television adaption.

“A Raisin in the Sun” airs tonight at 8 pm. PST/EST on ABC.