The two remaining members of the Beastie Boys, Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, are to publish a memoir chronicling the history of the New York hip-hop trio.

The publication follows a 2013 book deal. In an interview on Beats 1, Diamond said: “Like many things we embark on, there are many false starts and, honestly, [there were] directions we went in that we realised were not the directions we should be going in.” He said the book will finally be published in autumn 2018.

He said it would be “unlike any other music book”, and gave hints as to what it might contain: “To tell our story, we have to give the cultural history of where we came from. New York City in the 80s, you had all these incredible, exciting music, art, film. All of that sort of has to converge to be able to explain [our story]. We just had the good fortune of being around all of it, so I think that’s number one.” Diamond added: “It’s kinda surreal what happens in bands’ lives, so you have to use all dimensions to tell the story more accurately.”

The core lineup of the Beastie Boys, with Diamond, Horovitz and Adam “MCA” Yauch – who died of cancer in 2012 aged 47 – formed in 1983, and blended punk-rock with hip-hop to become one of the most original and beloved rap groups of all time. Their albums Licensed to Ill, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and To the 5 Boroughs reached No 1 in the US, and they have sold more than 50m albums worldwide.

In 2014, Diamond said the band was effectively over following Yauch’s death. “We have not been able to tour since MCA, Adam Yauch, died,” he said. “We can’t make new music.”