Yes, I always start the processes with the & infix.
Actually I tested nanowm on the LCD of the NEEK the last days and the shell is not going to freeze but the nanowm environment won't show on the LCD neither. Now the shell freezes only when I'm trying to get the uClinux apps display on the vga monitor (1024x768, 24-bit).
I always "git clean -f -x -d" , clean (make clean) the uClinux-dist build environment and reconfigure the build system with the proper ptf file before running the kernel compilation for another hardware design.
D.