Beastie Boys member Mike D says the veteran rap trio is still on track for a 2011 comeback that includes the release of new album "Hot Sauce Committee Part 2" this spring, after Adam Yauch's cancer battle rendered the group inactive for much of 2010. 

In a new interview with BBC Radio 1, Mike D confirms that the Beasties' release schedule for its two "Hot Sauce Committee" albums has not changed from what was announced back in October 2010. "It's still delayed - the first one," he says. "The second one is coming out as originally scheduled." 

Beastie Boys Reveal 'Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2' Tracklist

The rapper adds that while the group is "really happy" about Yauch's improved health, touring plans for 2011 are still unclear. "We're still going to have to see how he's [Yauch] doing," says Mike D.

Although the BBC Radio 1 interview led to widespread reports that Mike D said Yauch was cancer-free, a spokesperson for the group clarifies to Billboard.com, "Mike did not say that." On Jan. 8, Yauch released a statement saying, "While I'm grateful for all the positive energy people are sending my way, reports of my being totally cancer free are exaggerated. I'm continuing treatment, staying optimistic and hoping to be cancer free in the near future."

Yauch underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his salivary gland in July 2009. In December of that year, he sent a email message to fans to share that we was feeling "healthy, strong and hopeful" he'd beaten the disease, and in October the group announced the track list of "Part 2" in and revealed that "Hot Sauce Committee Part 1" would be released at a later date. 

Before the Beastie Boys issue their follow-up to 2007 instrumental album "The Mix-Up," Mike D says that the trio has to finish "a big video," which may or may not be "Fight For Your Right Revisited," a re-imagining of their classic 1987 "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Fight (to Party)" music video that will star Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Seth Rogen, among others. "It's not even a video, it's a film-eo. A cinematic, short film," says Mike D.

Billboard Bits: Beastie Boys Make 'Fight' Film