Protesters gather as R. Kelly takes the stage in North Carolina
R. Kelly performs in concert at Barclays Center on September 25, 2015 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Mike Pont/Getty Images GREENSBORO, N.C. — A defiant R. Kelly took the stage Friday night in North Carolina, in spite of efforts to silence him over his treatment of women, and had barely begun performing when the bone-rattling background beat…