The first instalment of the two-part record was due to arrive last year, but was delayed after rapper Adam Yauch was diagnosed with cancer.

Yauch – also known as MCA – was forced to undergo surgery and extensive treatment to remove the tumour in his left salivary gland.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the rapper said he had responded well to treatment and was looking forward to returning to the group.

“I feel better,” he said. “It was touch and go there for a while, but I am finally getting my energy back.”

Yauch, who admitted that it was “really disappointing” having to postpone the album's release, said the group may reassess the record before its release.

“We may or may not [release the album] depending on how my health is come September,” he said. “We want to but we have to play it by ear.”

Yauch added: “I was just talking to Adam [Horovitz] and Mike [D] today on the phone and we were talking about working on it a bit.

“We finished the record over a year ago, so we want to take a look at it and re-evaluate and make sure it is what we want to put out there and that we are still happy with it."

(by Jason Gregory)