Underground hip-hop group Atmosphere recently earned the No. 5 spot on the Billboard 200 for their latest release, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That sh*t Gold. This is the highest spot the duo has ever obtained in their decade-plus career. SOHH caught up with the Atmosphere front man, Slug, to talk about their newfound success.

After six albums, Atmosphere - the Minneapolis powerhouse consisting of Slug and DJ/ producer Ant - has finally earned its first top 10 record. But Slug is careful not to let their chart position weigh too heavily in their minds.

"It's a fresh thing but I'm not dumb enough to let it go to my head," Slug said. "I see behind the curtain and I know what all this sh*t really is. If there had been a couple of good rap releases to come out that same week, we wouldn't have been No. 5. Let's just be real. All those kinds of things are elusions to a certain extent. It's not like me and Mariah [Carey] are actually battling for fans."

As SOHH previously reported, the group's record label, Rhymesayers Entertainment, which Slug co-founded, and is home to such other underground favorites as MF Doom and Brother Ali, recently announced a partnership with Warner Music's Independent Label Group. Under the agreement, Atmosphere gleans major label marketing among other things.

"The people at the label, they're happy as f*ck," Slug said. "But me and Ant? We're like we got a show to do tomorrow, so let's look at that."

Atmospher fans appreciate their noes to the grind approach and according to Slug, they share in the crew's achievements.

"When you buy a record from the guy that sells 1.5 million records, it's hard to see yourself as a part of his success," he explained. "But when you buy a record from a guy that sells 20,000 records, you're a big part of that guy's rent."

Imprinting under Warner hasn't changed the group's mission or its definition of success. Atmosphere is still all about the fans and the duo doesn't plan on using the No. 5 spot to launch them into some sort of commercialized success.

"We stare at the kids in the crowd, that's where we gauge what our next moves are and I think Warner understands that about us," he clarified. "Wthout that 36,000 people that bought my record the first week, I'm nothing."

Breaking out in 1998, Atmosphere is one of the most long-lived independent hip-hop acts. Lemons, the group's fifth studio album is the follow up to '05's You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having - which comparatively peaked at No. 66 on the charts.

Atmosphere is currently on tour hitting up Austin, Texas tomorrow. Check out their MySpace page for a complete listing of their upcoming shows.