Echo Unique Ladadrian Brown's early life was marked by the challenges of growing up in poverty. Despite these challenges, she was able to recognize her academic potential and pursued her aspirations for higher education. During her senior year of high school, she lived temporarily with an English teacher who encouraged her academic pursuits. However, a guidance counselor discouraged her aspirations for Dartmouth College, citing her background. Undeterred, Brown attended Dartmouth, wrote for the student newspaper, and earned a bachelor's degree in government in 2006.
After graduating from Dartmouth, Brown developed her one-woman show, "Black Virgins Are Not for Hipsters," which debuted in 2015. The performance addressed various societal and personal challenges, including an incident of racial aggression she faced at Dartmouth. Brown's work often draws upon her experiences and elements of magical realism. She has authored two young-adult novels: Black Girl Unlimited: The Remarkable Story of a Teenage Wizard and The Chosen One: A First-Generation Ivy League Odyssey. At the time of her death, she was working on the novel A Jazzman’s Blues with actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry, who wrote the screenplay of the Netflix movie of the same name.