R. Kelly serenaded his Detroit fans from a barber's chair Wednesday in a Twitter video posted hours before his scheduled Little Caesars Arena concert, expressing excitement at the chance to perform once again in a city where fans have flocked to his shows for decades.

But not all Detroiters were happy to have the R&B singer in town.

As showtime approached, more than 30 people protested outside the arena, chanting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, R. Kelly has got to go;" "Black girls' lives matter;" "LCA, shame on you" and "Not in my city."

Nicole Denson, who helped organize the demonstration, said it was part of a nationwide effort called #MuteRKelly that seeks to call the singer to task over past sexual misconduct allegations.

"I'm tired of my taxpayer dollars hosting alleged -- and known -- sexual predators," said Denson, who serves as associate director of advocacy services for Wayne County SAFE, a nonprofit that facilitates rape kit testing for victims of sexual assault.

"We have to make a stance in our city to say 'We have to do better.' ... So what does that say to little black girls who have to know that R. Kelly is performing?"

Kelly was most recently accused of operating a "cult" centered around brainwashing, controlling and having sex with young, adult women.

Kelly was accused of -- but denied -- entering into an illegal marriage with then-15-year-old R&B singer Aaliyah in 1994; and was indicted on charges of child porn possession in 2003; but, a jury found him not guilty in 2007.

The 2003 indictment stemmed from an alleged video of the singer engaged in sexual acts with a 14-year-old. Kelly denied he was the man who appeared in the footage that surfaced publicly in 2002.

Denson said the protests extend beyond Kelly to issues involving the marginalization and unfair treatment of sexual assault victims, especially poor black women.

She cited the Detroit rape kit crisis, in which it was discovered in 2009 that police had collected samples from nearly 11,000 possible sexual assault victims, but never sent in the kits to be tested.

"They are survivors," Denson said.

Gina Peoples, 51, of Detroit, on her way to the entrance, said she separates the rumors -- true or not -- from Kelly's artistry.

"He's a performer. If that is something that he did do, he has to answer to God for that," she said. "... We have kids being raped walking to school in the morning time, and they're not looking at those issues. They're looking at stars and stuff.

"They should be looking at the bigger picture."

Another concert goer, who declined to share her name, said on her way into Little Caesars Arena: "That's fine, I'm going to enjoy myself at the R. Kelly show. They can keep protesting."

Another attendee, who also declined to provide her name, said "We've all made mistakes ... and we must forgive."